PUTRAJAYA, Dec 8 — The Malaysian Immigration Department (JIM) detained two individuals, a Malaysian man and an Indian woman, in a special operation conducted yesterday (Dec 7) at two locations, namely around the Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 1 (KLIA1) and in Jalan Kuching, Kuala Lumpur.

Its director-general, Datuk Zakaria Shaaban, said the local man was detained at the KLIA exit inspection counter after being detected using another individual's Indian passport to leave Malaysia.

"The inspection results revealed that the suspect was actually a Malaysian and was believed to be using an Indian passport, which was suspected of having forged his identity on the passport's biodata page or using a passport belonging to another individual," he said in a statement here today.

Zakaria said the man's detention led to the arrest of an Indian woman at a residence in Jalan Kuching who was suspected of overstaying in the country.

He said that during the raid on the residential premises, the woman tried to flee with the male suspect's MyKad, but was successfully stopped by the operations team.

"Initial checks revealed that the Indian woman who was arrested had overstayed. The operations team seized two copies of her Indian passport, a boarding pass, and a mobile phone for further investigation," he said.

Zakaria said the local man was being investigated under Section 12(1)(b) of the Passport Act 1966, while the Indian woman was being investigated under Section 15(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 and Regulation 25(1) of the National Registration Regulations 1990.

He added that both suspects had been taken to the Putrajaya Immigration Office for further action, while two other Malaysian individuals were given notice to appear at the office to assist in the investigation.

The operation involved a team of officers and personnel of various ranks from the Intelligence and Special Operations Division at the Immigration headquarters here, along with a team of officers from the National Registration Department (JPN) in Putrajaya, in collaboration with officers from the Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS). — Bernama