KUALA LUMPUR: THE clues and money trail left behind by the men allegedly involved in a multi-billion ringgit cigarette and alcohol-smuggling syndicate will leave any crook worth his salt cringing.
Graft-busters investigating the case said the mountain of evidence accrued in the probe showed that the 24 men, arrested on Wednesday and Thursday, would not have been able to sustain their lavish lifestyle with just their take-home pay. Among those arrested were top officers in the Customs Department.
A special task force comprising 200 officers from various agencies, spearheaded by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, took three years to build an airtight case against these individuals, who included Customs officers, company owners, agents, drivers and tontos.
A 24-hour surveillance on key members of the syndicate was instituted in the final year before sweeping arrests were made.
The massive crackdown was part of efforts to weed out institutionalised corruption in the country and was preceded by an exhaustively thought-out, and carefully-mapped plans to catch these men red-handed.
So, began the round-the-clock surveillance on the men aged between 36 and 56. Most seemed unapologetic about flaunting their extravagant lifestyle.
Investigators involved directly in the probe told the New Straits Times that they had armed themselves with comprehensive dossiers, including a “floorplan” of the movements of every one of the 24 suspects.
So “smooth” was their operation that even the tontos allegedly engaged by the syndicate to keep a look out for MACC officers were unaware they were instead the ones being watched.
Two of them were the last ones picked up on Thursday and subsequently remanded.
“We also had a flowchart and records of who they met, right down to the behavioural patterns of each individual and the people they were dealing with.
The team also studied the growth in the wealth of those related directly to them. Many of their relatives were benefiting from their illicit dealings and were spending like they were born filthy rich. We followed every single one of the Customs men who we eventually busted,” said one of the investigators.
Another investigator revealed that the state Customs director, who was among the 24 arrested, had seven houses linked to him.
Explaining the 207 accounts that were frozen by the task force, the investigator said many of those related to these men, including their wives and children, had several accounts under their names, some with the account balances running into hundreds of thousands of ringgit.
“There were some of them, whose young children were driving cars they could not have afforded on their government pay.
“We have seized a shophouse that they allegedly used as store for their illicit business. We also sealed up many of their houses and seized several cars and lorries that had been used to transport the illicit cigarettes and alcohol.”
Graft-busters also seized from the men no less than RM3 million that was kept at their homes and offices.
When arrested and presented with the evidence, some of these men had allegedly told investigators that the money was from their Hari Raya collection, as well as for their daily expenditure and loan repayments.
A top-ranking officer in the investigating team revealed to the NST that the red flag on these men was first raised when taxmen auditing the accounts prepared by Customs officers based at the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) found that the numbers did not add up.
A thorough audit was then carried out by the Inland Revenue Board, covering both the department’s accounts, as well as companies that it had been dealing with.
That was when the MACC launched a full-blown probe.
Investigators yesterday also revealed a shocking fact.
The estimated RM4 billion in losses suffered by the government from lost taxes as well as spin-off benefits were linked to only one company that had been in cahoots with the Customs men. The lorry drivers, agents and runners were all linked to the same company.
Investigators also revealed that the probe was now focusing on at least nine more companies operating in the PKFZ.
“If that single company had cost Malaysia some RM4 billion in losses over three years, imagine the losses that would have been racked up that could have been caused by the other companies.
“We are currently on it and we expect to make more arrests soon,” the investigator said.
He dropped another bombshell, suggesting that a radical approach was needed to nip corruption among Customs officers in the bud.
“The other top officer that we arrested held a position that gives him the knowledge and an edge in smuggling activities.
“He knows the law and he was in the best position to curb corruption. Sadly, we have grounds to believe that he was involved, too.
“He must have thought he would never be caught, just like how the others probably thought,” he said.
It is learnt that investigators, in making their case against the men, had also compared their income and expenses, as well as reviewed their declaration of assets.
Meanwhile, sources from the IRB said the board would leave no stones unturned in the audit of the Customs accounts.
Its public relations officer Masrun Maslim said IRB’s role in the special task force was to audit the accounts of both the suspected individuals and companies involved.
He said the audit included the process of identifying undeclared items and transactions that did not tally.
“We will red flag all payments, transactions and anything that may be seen as suspicious. These suspect documents will then be sent for further investigations.
“Cases such as undeclared payments are considered embezzlement. Audits will determine whether or not the individual had been paying the correct amount of taxes,” he said.
Meanwhile, a source in the IRB team told the NST that the lifestyle and account transactions of the 24 detained were indeed compelling evidence to bring them to book.
The source added that the 12 Customs officers had failed to justify the large amounts of money in accounts linked to them.