A syndicate allegedly involving Immigration Department insiders and agents linked to a restaurant owners' association is suspected of manipulating the department's migrant worker quota system to bring in labour beyond approved limits.

According to sources, the syndicate's activity was uncovered recently when the department cross-checked the Malaysian Immigration System (MyIMMS) data against actual documents issued to restaurant operators by its Foreign Worker Division.

It found a big anomaly between the real status of migrant workers in MyIMMS and the issued documents.

A further investigation then revealed a sinister plot exploiting a...