JOHOR BARU: The Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS) has detained two enforcement officers at the Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex at the Sultan Iskandar Building (BSI) over suspected involvement in the notorious "Flying Passport" activity.
The agency’s BSI CIQ commander Roszita Dim said the male suspects are aged 31 and 49 and were detained on Friday (July 25) following a covert surveillance operation by the AKPS compliance unit that began at 3pm on the same day.
"Our operation targeted the team on duty at the CIQ complex, where suspicious activity was first detected around 7.30pm at the vehicle zone counter at the entry checkpoint.
"Investigators observed several questionable entries of visitor data using an officer's login credentials at the counter, including data linked to foreign nationals flagged as problematic visitors.
"These entries triggered manual data correction actions by one of the suspects," she said at a press conference held within BSI CIQ on Saturday (July 26).
Roszita added that at around 9pm, another instance of suspicious data clearance involving a problematic visitor was detected, this time using a supervisor's user ID stationed in the motorcycle zone.
"A search at the vehicle zone counter uncovered RM2,800 in cash and two mobile phones in one of the suspect’s possession.
"The investigation then led to a concealed stash of 14 foreign passports, with 11 belonging to Chinese nationals and three to Indonesian nationals, hidden inside a black bag above the ceiling at another counter," she said.
Further inspection at the motorcycle zone revealed two additional mobile phones belonging to the other suspect, which were seized for further examination.
Both suspects were detained on the spot and handed over to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Johor at 10am on Saturday (July 26) for further action.
"Investigation against the two suspects is ongoing, including whether there is a syndicate behind this. We have reported the case to the agency’s integrity unit head at AKPS headquarters in Putrajaya," she added.
Roszita said AKPS is committed to upholding integrity and rooting out misconduct, particularly corruption, among enforcement officers and department personnel at the country’s border entry points.
