KUALA LUMPUR: The Immigration Department will no longer allow "athletes" from Bangladesh to enter the country without supporting documents for sporting events.
Director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said a syndicate had been trying to bring Bangladeshi nationals into the country under the pretext of joining sporting events, only for the foreigners to seek work in Malaysia.
As recently as October, the syndicate had brought in 18 "sportsmen".
The men, aged 21 to 33, were detained in a raid in Maluri. Also seized were passports and an invitation letter to participate in a sports competition.
The department also arrested three other Bangladeshis suspected of being part of the syndicate, which charged the men between RM2,000 and RM5,000 each.
"Just two days after those arrests, we stopped another attempt to bring in 20 Bangladeshis through the Kuala Lumpur International Airport."
The foreigners were issued Not-to-Land notices and ordered to be sent back to their country.
"On Jan 15, 2023, we found that 23 Bangladeshi nationals had entered Malaysia using the same modus operandi, supposedly to participate in a sporting event.
"Checks revealed that the men later registered for the Manpower Recalibration Programme," he said, adding that their applications were rejected as they did not meet the criteria.
He said the department was not ruling out the possibility that other syndicates were also trying to bring foreigners into the country using the same modus operandi.
Zakaria said to curb such attempts, the department would tighten the screening for "athletes" from Bangladesh, including by going through the supporting documents for events.
He added that the department would engage other agencies to check on the admission of Bangladeshis for sporting events in the country.
"Our enforcement division is collecting intelligence to track down the remnants of the syndicate. We are also tracking down other Bangladeshis who entered Malaysia using the same modus operandi and are believed to have overstayed."
Last September, it was reported that the Immigration Department deported 29 Pakistanis who arrived at Langkawi International Airport, purportedly to participate in a running event.
The 28 men and a woman informed Immigration at the airport that they were participating in a running event the following day.
However, the group raised suspicion when the Immigration officers found only kurtas, a traditional Pakistani attire, upon inspecting their bags, and no running gear.