Sri Lankans detained over forged documents in Malaysia [November 12 2008]

Malaysian immigration officers have arrested two Sri Lankan nationals, believed to be part of a syndicate issuing forged passports and personal identification documents to their fellow countrymen, news reports said today (12). The suspects, both in their 20s, were caught in a raid on Sunday at an apartment in the capital Kuala Lumpur, the Star daily reported.

The officers discovered 20 Malaysian passports, a British passport and seven Malaysian identification cards which had all been tampered with, and were believed to have been sold for 15,000 ringgit (4,348 dollars) each. The syndicate, believed to have been in operation for at least a year, worked as a direct business deal between the syndicate members and those wanting to purchase the forged documents, Immigration Enforcement director Ishak Mohammed said.

'I can safely say they made a lot of money doing this and no locals were involved,' Ishak said, adding that the social passes of the two suspects had expired and they were in the country as illegals. The Malaysian government has recently withdrawn the visa-on-arrival privilege for Sri Lankan nationals due to the high number of illegal migrants and forgery cases, Ishak added. Those caught forging travel documents face jail and whipping under the country's immigration laws.