More civil servants nabbed for taking bribes from smugglers

Rounded up: At least 10 civil servants have been arrested for allegedly taking over RM3mil in bribes from illicit tobacco, cigarettes and alcohol smugglers.

PETALING JAYA: Ten civil servants have been arrested for allegedly taking over RM3mil in bribes from smugglers.

According to sources, the suspects, aged in their 30s to 50s, were arrested with five others when they went to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters on Tuesday to have their statements recorded.

“The arrests were made following Op Samba 2.0 which was carried out by the MACC’s Money Laundering Prevention Division (AML) together with the Inland Revenue Board and Bank Negara since last Monday.

“Those arrested are believed to have received bribes from a syndicate to facilitate the smuggling of chewing tobacco, cigarettes, alcohol and several other items between 2017 and 2023,” said the sources.

Following the arrests, the division seized items, including mobile phones, and froze the bank accounts of all suspects.

Previously, it had arrested and remanded 11 individuals, including five civil servants.

The modus operandi of the syndicate includes using the services of a “forwarding agent” as a middleman for payments to facilitate the process of smuggling alcohol, cigarettes, tobacco and other goods without going through the proper declaration and inspection process.

The forwarding agent allegedly used the money supplied by the syndicate and made a transfer through a mule account to a suspect, who would then facilitate the entry of the cargo without proper declaration and inspection.

The syndicate then used the proceeds of their smuggling activities to buy real estate. It was also found to be involved in laundering money using the business accounts of shell companies through moneychangers and licensed moneylending companies.

When contacted, MACC’s AML director Datuk Mohamad Zamri Zainul Abidin confirmed the remand of the 10 suspects and said the case was being investigated under Section 17(a) of the MACC Act 2009.

He said five other suspects were released on MACC bail.