Bangladeshi cons own countrymen

A 40-year-old Bangladeshi recruitment agent who has been conning  his fellow countrymen was nabbed by the Johor Bahru Immigration Department enforcement team during two separate raids here, yesterday.

Forty-eight Bangladeshis and one Indian national were arrested for not having valid work permits; 69 passports and RM54,600 were also seized.

Johor Immigration Department deputy enforcement director, Masri Adul, said the seized money is suspected to be the proceeds of processing and supplying forged passports and fake work permits.

He said the enforcement team raided a building in Taman Putra, Kempas Lama where 25 Bangladeshi males and one male Indian national were arrested, including the Bangladeshi worker recruitment agent.

Four forged Indonesian passports and some cash were also confiscated.

In a follow-up raid at Taman Mulai, Tampoi, another 22 male Bangladeshis were arrested.

Sixty-one Bangladeshi passports and four forged Indonesian passports were also seized.

The agent has been known to be active over the last one year and is believed to have profited handsomely by charging RM1,000 for supplying fake work permits for each passport.

The arrested offenders, who are aged between 25 to 50, were sent to the Pekan Nenas Immigration detention centre for further investigation under the Immigration Act 1963.