By The Straits Times | Created at 2025-01-24 02:54:10 | Updated at 2025-01-24 06:44:45
4 hours ago
KUALA LUMPUR - Corrupt enforcement officers have been raking in close to RM200,000 (S$61,000) each month from vape smugglers at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Free Commercial Zone (FCZ).
These officers collect bribes from lorries that leave the KLIA cargo inspection centre, says Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki.
He said the amount of bribes depended on the types of lorries being let through.
“For a one-tonne lorry, the amount is RM150, three-tonne lorry is RM300, five-tonne lorry is RM500 and above five tonnes is RM750.
“Every day, some 20 lorries go through the FCZ and the amount of bribes collected is between RM4,000 and RM6,000 each day,” he said.
He said the lorries being let through inspections by these enforcement officers were involved in various offences especially vape smuggling.
Mr Azam said that under a special operation codenamed Ops Airways, the MACC seized items, including vapes, cash, computers and mobile phones worth RM17.9mil.
“We believe the vape smuggling syndicate has been operating since 2023.
“Our investigations have just begun and we are in the midst of identifying other suspects and those involved in the smuggling activity,” he said.
It had been reported that a vape smuggling syndicate bribing Customs officers at the cargo centre was busted on Jan 21.
The MACC Intelligence Division uncovered the illegal activity when Ops Airways was launched after a three-month surveillance operation.
According to sources, 14 people aged between 20 and 60 were arrested, including six Customs officers and six company directors.
All have been remanded for between four and five days.
“The arrests were made after two lorries that left the KLIA cargo inspection centre were stopped. Simultaneously, a large-scale raid was conducted on two storage warehouses of the companies involved.
“The joint inspection, conducted with the Customs Department Enforcement Division, found 32,000 vape pens – estimated to involve RM1.9mil in tax – in the seized lorry,” he said on Jan 23.
A raid at one of the warehouses uncovered 90,000 vape pens, with an estimated RM5.4mil in unpaid taxes. In the other warehouse, officials discovered tens of thousands more vape pens, also involving millions in unpaid taxes.
The source added that the raids revealed a loss of about RM8mil in tax revenue for the country
“The contents of the vape pens are also feared to be harmful to the health of consumers,” he said.
Mr Azam said the vape operations resembled the modus operandi of the “flying containers” syndicate last year when enforcement officers allegedly received thousands of ringgit for each container which bypassed scanning machines or inspections.
That illegal operation was uncovered following the arrest of 34 Customs officers at KLIA and 11 others at Port Klang Airport under Ops Samba 2.0. THE STAR/ ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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