RTK syndicate raking in RM2 million busted

Immigration Department director-general Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud said the department conducted raids in Jalan Lumut in Kuala Lumpur and Pandan Cahaya in Ampang on June 8 and nabbed six individuals, aged 38 to 52, including the mastermind, a Bangladeshi, who is also a permanent resident card holder (MyPR).

He also stressed that the department has never appointed any individual or agency in the affairs of the RTK programme.

"The syndicate used the construction company as a front and as an illegal employment agency to collect about RM2 million in profit in the RTK programme based on the RM3,500 and RM4,200 fees charged for each of the 488 passports seized in the raids," he said in a press conference.

"The syndicate's modus operandi involved the setting up of a construction company and an illegal employment agency to mislead the authorities and to convince customers to recruit foreign workers, especially through the RTK programme which was launched last year.

He said that based on the department's preliminary investigations, the Bangladeshi man has been living in Malaysia since 2010 as a foreign worker and later was granted a MyPR on Feb 18, 2015, and married a local woman.

Khairul Dzaimee said the investigation was still ongoing to ensure that no Temporary Employment Visit Passes (PLKS) were issued by the syndicate.

"If there are any PLKS issued through the syndicate, it will be cancelled," he warned.

He added that the six individuals detained will be investigated under the Immigration Act 1959/63 and the Immigration Regulations 1963 and the Passport Act 1966.