The Immigration Department today announced it has exposed a syndicate that was trafficking children to Europe.
Its director-general Ruslin Jusoh (above) said the syndicate's modus operandi was revealed following the April 12 arrest of a local husband and wife, aged 26 and 37 respectively.
According to him, the syndicate would convince parents to bring the birth certificates of their 12-year-old children to the immigration office under the pretext of making a passport.
"However, when at the counter, the child that was brought will instead be one of a similar age from Sri Lanka and that child will be sent for photo-taking and fingerprint recording," he said in a statement.
The suspect who led the syndicate would then also be the "transporter" who would bring the Sri Lankan children who had successfully obtained a passport to Europe.
"Investigations are underway to trace and determine how many children had been involved and how long the syndicate had been in operation.
"Based on preliminary investigations, the syndicate was paid between 30,000 and 50,000 euros (RM145,906.18 to RM243,176.97) for each child that obtained a passport and was escorted to Europe," he said.
The couple were busted after going to the Immigration Department branch in Kuala Lumpur to obtain a passport, and discrepancies were found during the application process.
An officer proceeded to interview the child, who was unable to communicate in Bahasa Malaysia and had distinct facial differences from the suspects masquerading as its parents.
Both suspects were charged on Wednesday in Kuala Lumpur and will be held at the Kajang prison until May 11 for case mention. - Mkini
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