Immigration arrests fake labour recalibration agents

Immigration arrests fake labour recalibration agents

Immigration director-general Ruslin Jusoh says the group would approach mostly Bangladeshi and Indonesian nationals, and charge up to RM2,000 for the application process.

The two men, suspected of masterminding a foreign worker agents’ syndicate, were arrested by the immigration department yesterday. (Immigration Malaysia pic)
PETALING JAYA:
The immigration department has arrested two men it believes were behind a group masquerading as labour recalibration programme agents, its director-general, Ruslin Jusoh, said today.

“A Myanmar national and a Bangladeshi national, aged 50 and 52, were apprehended while meeting another suspect yesterday at Jalan Duta, Kuala Lumpur,” he said, adding that both men were married to Malaysians.

“Their method was to act as foreign worker agents for the RTK 2.0 programme, targeting nationals from Bangladesh and Indonesia.

“They offered services such as facilitating registration for the programme at the immigration office and are believed to have been operating for a year,” Ruslin said, referring to the government’s recalibration programme.

Cash and passports were among the items seized by the immigration department. (Immigration Malaysia pic)

He said the group charged victims between RM1,500 and RM2,000 for registration.

“We also seized more than RM91,000 in cash, 12 Bangladeshi passports, an Indonesian passport, company documents, application forms for the workforce recalibration programme and three mobile phones,” he said.

Ruslin said the pair were being held at the Putrajaya immigration detention centre under the Immigration Act 1959/63, the Passports Act 1966 and Immigration Regulations 1963.

Immigration officers have also summoned three people to provide their statements to assist in the investigation.

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