PUTRAJAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has arrested 15 civil servants on suspicion of receiving bribes of more than RM2 million from a tobacco, cigarette and alcohol smuggling syndicate.
All the suspects, aged between 30 and 50, were arrested at about 2pm yesterday after appearing at the MACC Headquarters here to have their statements recorded.
The arrest was made by MACC's Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Division following Op Samba 2.0 which was carried out together with the Inland Revenue Board and Bank Negara Malaysia since last week.
Sources said that preliminary investigations found that all the suspects were suspected of receiving the bribes between 2017 and 2023.
"The suspects are believed to have received more than RM2 million in bribes from the syndicate to facilitate the smuggling of tobacco, cigarettes, alcohol and several other items," said the source.
Following the arrest, the division confiscated items such as mobile phones in addition to freezing the bank accounts of all suspects.
MACC AML director Datuk Mohamad Zamri Zainul Abidin when contacted confirmed the arrest of the 15 suspects involved, and said the case is being investigated in accordance with Section 17(a) of the MACC Act 2009.
He said, all the suspects will be brought for a remand application at the Putrajaya Magistrate's Court tomorrow.
Previously, the MACC remanded 11 individuals, including five civil servants, for being involved in the activities of the syndicate.
The syndicate's modus operandi includes using the services of a 'forwarding agent' as a middleman for the payment of bribes to law enforcement officers to smooth the process of smuggling alcohol, cigarettes, tobacco and other goods without going through the proper declaration and inspection.
The syndicate is also believed to be using mule accounts to pay the civil servants.