PUTRAJAYA: Graft investigators have nabbed 13 individuals, including two enforcement officers at Kuala Lumpur International Airport over their alleged involvement in a “counter setting” syndicate.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said the enforcement officers were believed to have been doing “counter setting” since 2016 and took payment between RM300 and RM2,500 per foreigner.
The “fee”, said Azam, would depend on nationality.
“In the special ops codenamed Ops Setting, nine agents and two proxies, whom investigators believe are holders of assets on behalf of the enforcement officers, were arrested,” he said.
The suspects were rounded up at various locations in the Klang Valley and were taken to the Kuala Lumpur MACC office for questioning.
“Counter setting” refers to foreigners who enter the country without proper document inspections by going through designated and predetermined lanes at entry points.
Azam said a special team has been set up to record statements from the enforcement officers and did not rule out the possibility of more arrests.
He said MACC officers had seized cash amounting to RM50,000 during the raid.
On Wednesday, a Myanmar national, who is a syndicate agent was charged in Shah Alam Sessions Court for paying RM5,650 to an Immigration department officer to allow the entry of nine individuals from the country without adhering to procedure.
On Aug 22, the MACC crippled a syndicate allegedly facilitating the entry of foreigners without proper inspections at the country’s entry points.
The syndicate’s operations were exposed following the arrest of 12 individuals during operations codenamed Ops Pump conducted across the Klang Valley, Penang and Kelantan.
Among those arrested were four company owners, three members of the public believed to have been involved in managing the illegal entry of foreigners and five enforcement officers stationed at KLIA Terminal 2.
