Passport forgery syndicate uncovered

Police have uncovered a passport forgery syndicate following the arrest of two Ghanan siblings and a Filipina aged between 31 and 40 during a raid at a shophouse in Pandan Indah Ampang.

Selangor police chief Datuk Mohd Shukri Dahlan said, police acting on a public tip-off raided the premises at 12.10pm Thursday and seized 95 international passports of 30 countries, mainly of the African continent and arrival passes.

Police also seized 131 rubber stamps of various countries, computer laptops, a printing machine, passport size photographs of men and women, and immigration barcodes, among others.

He said the syndicate had been active for two years and was believed to have falsified passports and visas or tampered with travel documents by changing the expiry date.

"We do not want Malaysia to be a hub for such activities. One of the three suspects had been staying in Malaysia for two years but regularly returned to Ghana bringing with him car spare parts. Police are investigating whether the spare parts which were resold in Ghana were stolen items," he told a media conference here Friday.

According to him, the syndicate offered between US$200 (RM641) and US$250 (RM801) for each document forgery.