Malaysian immigration officials have arrested a Myanmar national and three Malaysian airport officials, believed to be part of a syndicate issuing forged passports to foreigners, reports said Sunday. ( dpa )
Two of the suspects, in their late 20s, were detained by immigration officers Friday at the airport in the northern state of Penang, following the arrests of another officer and a Myanmar citizen July 5 at Singapore's Changi Airport.
The suspects were believed to be part of a syndicate that is still active in the airport and the mastermind known as Mamat is still at large, immigration enforcement chief Ishak Mohamed said.
"Our investigations show that the airport officials had issued the Myanmar (national) with a fake Malaysian passport to enter the country through the ( Penang) airport," he was quoted as saying by the News Straits Times daily.
The syndicate is believed to be charging 10,000 ringgit (2,941 US dollars) for a fake Malaysian passport and an additional 1,000 ringgit (294 US dollars) for a boarding pass.
Ishak said that more immigration officers have been deployed to the airports and they will be working closely with the police on the matter.
Those caught forging travel documents face jail and whipping under the country's immigration laws.