PUTRAJAYA, March 18 — Fifteen Bangladeshi men who tried to enter the country by posing as members of a cricket team were detained during an inspection at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) yesterday.
The Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS) reported that the group attempted to deceive the agency’s officers by wearing cricket sports uniforms and presenting a tournament organisation letter.
However, according to AKPS, the investigation found that the letter allegedly issued by the Penang Cricket Association was fake.
“No cricket tournament is scheduled to take place from March 21 to March 23, 2025,” said a statement here today.
AKPS said it became even more suspicious when they tried to get a sponsor as a guarantor.
“However, the ‘guarantor’ who was present admitted to having no information about the cricket tournament and only attended as a company representative,” according to the statement.
AKPS said that further inspection found no solid evidence that they were cricketers and it was likely that they are part of a syndicate trying to disguise themselves as cricketers to enter Malaysia for other purposes.
It said that a decision was made for the group involved not-to-land (NTL) and further action will be taken according to the applicable immigration regulations.
AKPS also warns that strict action will be taken against any individual or syndicate who attempts to misuse sports visas for different purposes such as illegal work or human trafficking. — Bernama
