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PUTRAJAYA: Two people, believed to be agents of the “immigration services” union, have been arrested.
The two, aged 35 and 49, have been in preventive detention for seven days until December 4.
Judge Shah Wira Abdul Halim issued the preventive detention order enforced by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on Saturday (November 28).
MACC investigators, on November 18 and 23, issued a statement seeking the two people.
Sources said investigators had managed to trace their whereabouts and arrested the suspects at MACC headquarters on Friday (November 27).
“Investigators had also managed to seize some cash and several foreign passports,” the sources said.
The latest arrests bring the tally of people detained for the union’s alleged activities to 65 – 39 immigration officers, 17 officers and nine civilians.
The MACC, with the cooperation of the Department of Immigration, had carried out a nationwide bombardment codenamed “Ops Selat” against union members.
The union, whose activities have been in high demand since the MCO was imposed in March, is believed to have provided “air passport” services where agents collected passports belonging to foreign workers and undocumented migrants whose social visiting passes had expired.
The passports would receive immigration entry and exit stamps from the union to allow for the extension of the permits, which is a violation of procedures as the owner of a travel document must be present during the immigration process.
The union is also said to have provided “counter services” at KLIA and KLIA2 for migrants and foreigners who have been blacklisted into and out of the country.
The union is believed to have charged between RM500 and RM6,000 for “counter services”.
The union, which has been in operation since 2017, is believed to have raised RM14.5 million.
Intelligence revealed that the union had provided its “special services” to at least 30,000 aliens and undocumented immigrants over the years and is believed to be involved in international human trafficking, particularly from China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Bangladesh.
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