Kuala lumpur: The Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur Immigration Department has successfully dismantled an international visa forgery syndicate known as 'David Lawrence' during a raid at a residence in Sungai Besi on February 10.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the syndicate was operated by a Bangladeshi married couple in their 30s, who had been active for the past eight months. They offered forged visas to European countries, charging up to RM20,000 per document. The syndicate's operations involved producing fake international visas for clients in Bangladesh, which were then shipped to Malaysia through international couriers. Once in Malaysia, the documents underwent further falsification before being used for travel to Europe.

During the raid, authorities seized numerous items linked to the syndicate, including passports, counterfeit foreign stamps, suspected fake immigration slips, mobile phones, laptops, and other equipment. The couple was subsequently charged in a Kuala Lumpur court, where they pleaded guilty to nine counts. They were fined a total of RM112,000. However, after failing to pay the fines, they were sentenced to 45 months' imprisonment, deported, and permanently barred from re-entering Malaysia.