Malaysia smashes smuggling ring masterminded by senior army officials
Five senior military officers and five civilians were arrested in a massive crackdown that followed a year-long surveillance operation
The operation, code-named Ops Sohor, was carried out by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s Intelligence Division with support from its tactical squad.
Sources said five senior military officers and five civilians, including an Indonesian national aged between 30 and 55, were arrested around the Klang Valley in simultaneous raids starting at 6.30am on Wednesday.
The officers, from the armed forces’ intelligence unit, included two retired members of the same division.
They had been tasked with monitoring and preventing smuggling activities, but are believed to have colluded with the syndicate over the past five years, reportedly amassing more than 3 million ringgit (US$712,000) in illicit gains.
Initial investigations revealed that the suspects had allegedly leaked military operational information to smugglers and conspired to bring in prohibited items such as drugs, cigarettes and other contraband from neighbouring countries. The smuggling activities were estimated to be worth about 5 million ringgit a month.
“The suspects are believed to have received bribes of between 30,000 ringgit and 50,000 ringgit for each smuggling trip,” a source said.