KUALA LUMPUR: Bribes given to enforcement officers at Kuala Lumpur International Airport's Free Commercial Zone for a vape smuggling syndicate could total RM6,000 a day, says Tan Sri Azam Baki.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner said the bribes depended on the types of lorries being let through.
"For a 1-tonne lorry, the amount was RM150, 3-tonne lorry (RM300), 5-tonne lorry (RM500) and above five tonnes is RM750.
"The frequency of lorries going through the FCZ is about 20 lorries a day and the amount of bribes are between RM4,000 and RM6,000 daily," he said when contacted on Thursday (Jan 23).
He said the lorries being let through inspections by enforcement officers were involved in various offences especially smuggling.
Azam said under a special operation codenamed "Ops Airways", the seized items, including vapes, cash, computers and mobile phones were worth RM17.9mil.
"We believe the vape smuggling syndicate has been active since 2023.
"For now, our investigation has just begun and we are in the midst of identifying other suspects and those involved in the smuggling activity," he said.
It was reported that a vape smuggling syndicate that was reportedly bribing Customs officers at the KLIA Cargo Centre was busted on Tuesday (Jan 21).
The MACC Intelligence Division uncovered the illegal activity through Ops Airways after a three-month surveillance operation.
According to sources, 14 individuals aged 20 to 60 were arrested, including six customs officers and eight individuals, six of which were company directors.
“The arrests were made after two lorries that left the KLIA cargo inspection centre were seized. 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 Wednesday.
At the same time, a raid at one of the warehouses uncovered 90,000 vape pens, which are estimated at RM5.4mil in unpaid tax. In another warehouse, officials discovered tens of thousands more vape pens, which also involve millions of ringgit in unpaid tax.
The source added that the raids have revealed a loss of about RM8mil in tax revenue for the country
"The content of the vape pens is also feared to be harmful to the health of consumers," he said.
It is believed that all the vape pens smuggled were not declared and that no documents were recorded.
"This resembles the modus operandi of the ‘flying containers’. Enforcement officers on duty allegedly received thousands of ringgit for each container, bypassing scanning machines or inspections," he said.
Meanwhile, six Customs officers and six individuals, including four company directors, were remanded for four days, and another was remanded for five days.
