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A Pakistani man's wife joked about being "caught by Immigration" in a video featuring a pickup truck fitted with a fake Malaysian Immigration Department logo and blue strobe lights
More than a year later, the prank resurfaced and triggered an Immigration operation that resulted in the arrest of 10 foreigners.
According to the Immigration Department (JIM), the footage was recorded in April 2025, when the Pakistani man's Indonesian wife filmed herself inside a pickup truck bearing a fake JIM logo and flashing strobe lights.
In the video, she appears to be playfully role-playing a mock "Immigration arrest" scenario, pointing to her Pakistani husband in the driver's seat as the supposed officer while he laughs along.
"Immigration Malaysia… Look… I'm being caught by Immigration. Oh God, I'm scared," she says in the video.
The footage was only uploaded to her WhatsApp status on 7 August 2026 while she was in Indonesia.
It subsequently spread to public social media platforms, where many users criticised the foreigners for allegedly mocking Malaysian authorities and misusing an official government logo and insignia.
The viral backlash prompted JIM's Intelligence and Special Operations Division at its Putrajaya headquarters to launch a special operation on 9 August
At about 4.30pm, officers raided a condominium at PV3 Platinum Hill in Setapak, where they detained the Pakistani man believed to be the person seen in the video.
Officers also found an Indonesian woman at the premises who had overstayed in Malaysia.
Two Indonesian passports believed to belong to other people were also found in the Pakistani man's possession.
JIM said the Pakistani man was detained for alleged offences under Section 12(1)(f) of the Passports Act 1966 and the Immigration Act 1959/63, while the Indonesian woman was detained under Section 15(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.
But the operation did not end there.
After the first arrests, Immigration officers traced the pickup truck seen in the viral video
The vehicle was found at a car wash along Jalan Kuching in Kuala Lumpur.
There, officers detained its actual owner, another Pakistani national.
According to JIM, the man admitted that he had installed the fake Immigration logo and strobe lights on the vehicle for personal use and claimed he was unaware that doing so was an offence.
He also told investigators that the logo and lights had been removed before the video went viral.
The vehicle's discovery led to another round of arrests
During the inspection of the car wash, JIM detained eight workers who it said were working at the premises without valid immigration passes.
They comprised four Bangladeshi men, three Pakistani men, and one Indian man.
JIM said the Pakistani owner of the vehicle was detained for an alleged offence under Section 55B of the Immigration Act 1959/63.
The eight workers were detained for alleged offences under Section 6(1)(c) of the same Act.
In total, 10 individuals were detained during the operation.
Meanwhile, JIM has warned against impersonating government agencies
JIM Director-General Datuk Zakaria Bin Shaaban said the department would not compromise on the misuse of its logo or identity, particularly where it could confuse members of the public or affect the department's image and integrity.
The department said it would continue taking firm action against activities that violate Malaysian law.
