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The suspects are accused of running an illegal medical operation for over a year
Published : 25 Jan 2025, 08:10 PM
The Malaysian Immigration Department has arrested 22 Bangladeshi nationals in separate raids over allegations of misrepresenting their identities.
According to the country’s media reports, 12 of them were arrested at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, or KLIA, as they attempted to enter the country, posing as trainees of the Malaysian Fisheries Academy.
The other 10 were arrested in parts of Kuala Lumpur, accused of falsely identifying themselves as doctors without possessing any valid medical certification.
The Malaysia's English-language daily The Star, citing KLIA Immigration Department Director Ibrahim Mohd Yusof, said the 12 men were previously seen wearing uniforms.
Yusof said: "Initial investigations found that all the individuals involved claimed they came to this country as trainees at the Malaysian Fisheries Academy.
"They presented an invitation letter from the academy with an address in Kuching, Sarawak.
"The inspection found that the contents of the letter presented by the group were not legitimate.”
He added that the 12 men behaved in a suspicious manner, causing concern.
"They were all referred to the Immigration Operations Office for further review.
The 10 "fake" doctors were arrested during raids conducted across 10 areas in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysian Immigration Director General Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said the raids were conducted jointly with the country’s health ministry on Thursday.
“We conducted surveillance for about two weeks before the raids. The arrestees are aged between 31 and 50.”
He added that medical equipment and 502 types of medicines were seized from the syndicate following raids in the city.
“The medicines did not have the approval of our health ministry.”
The suspects reportedly used Bangladeshis headed here as tourists to smuggle in medicines, paying them up to RM500 each, and charged workers between RM50 and RM200 for the bogus services.
“The suspects operated in restaurants and sundry shops to evade detection,” said Zakaria.
“We believe this syndicate has been operating in Malaysia for over a year.”
He concluded: “We have also issued notices to two Bangladeshi men and six Malaysian women to assist with the investigation.”
