Immigration officers 'seduced' by luxuries and money

Focus

By MUHAMMAD AFHAM RAMLI

31 Dec 2022 12:57pm

Six Indian migrants who were detained by immigration officers in a special operation at KLIA2, Sepang last November - FILE PIX

SHAH ALAM - Migrant smuggling syndicates have been found to be making millions of ringgit in profits that it is able to tempt Malaysian Immigration Department (JIM) officials with monetary rewards and luxuries.

An investigation found that the value of bribe offered was around RM500 for each released migrant. However, this amount is not fixed and depends on the convenience, transportation, difficulty, security risk and destination. It is understood that the syndicate involved will try to get to know and befriend the immigration officers and offer luxuries such as car modifications including expensive sport rim 'gifts' and birthday celebrations at luxury hotels.

Immigration director-general, Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud said, it is not a problem for the syndicate to 'invest' money in the officers involved where the value is based on the complexity of the services offered.

Khairul Dzaimee - FILE PIX

"This is one of the ways in which the syndicate builds relationships with officials including paying for these officers to change to expensive car rims. There are also reports that I received where the officers involved celebrated their birthday in a lavish ceremony when it was known that he would not be able to afford such things," he said in an exclusive interview to Sinar Harian.

Khairul did not deny that there are ex-officers who were dismissed who still have a connection with officers who are still on duty.

"The former officer will introduce a friend to the syndicate to close a 'deal' with a specific payment of RM500 to release migrants especially at KLIA or KLIA2.

"Migrants are detected entering through legal gateways such as KLIA or KLIA2 using valid passports from their countries of origin even though they have been blacklisted by JIM.

"This is where the role of the syndicate begins which is that the bribed official will stamp the migrant's passport, but it is not recorded in the system so that there is no entry record.

"Another way involves experienced officers where they will wait for these migrants to arrive and the migrants would be taken past the immigration counter through a certain lane that only these officers know without any stamp," he revealed.

He added that another way for these officers to smuggle in migrants is that those who have arrived would not go straight to the immigration inspection counter but instead wil wander and hide in toilets for four to five hours to wait for the conspiring officers to change shifts.

He said, immigration department believes that the illegal ' business transaction' is made through online transactions as well as cash.

SIMILAR MODUS OPERANDI

Khairul explained that the modus operandi of migrants being smuggled by sea, air or land are always the same.

"First, the syndicate will seek cooperation from the immigration officers themselves.

"Secondly, the mastermind will provide transportation facilities followed by the provision of a temporary residence or shelter in a specific location.

" There is an organizer who plays a role in ensuring that the migrants will have a job in various places," he said while adding that the syndicate is organised and has many teams.

"Immigration intelligence sources found that they use various strategies to launch smuggling activities. "Based on arrest records in Kelantan, eight local men were arrested aged 17 to 37-years old who admitted that they were only doing village work, but instead were transporters for incoming migrants.

Among the Indonesian migrants detained by immigration at KLIA2, Sepang on Dec 9 - FILE PIX

"The syndicate network certainly has relations with foreign countries because their activities are planned," he explained.

Khairul added that the foreign syndicate also provided transport facilities to enter Malaysia.

"Upon arriving here (Malaysia), the land clerk plays a role including knowing the day and time of arrival," he said.

BUSTING SYNDICATES

Khairul Dzaimee said, the Intelligence and Special Operations Division under JIM has successfully detected and busted several immigrant smuggling syndicates.

"The proof is that in 2022 after the national borders were opened last April, this special team managed to take down five syndicates consisting of 90 men and 29 women through raids in Johor, Kelantan, Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.

"The suspects also involved four immigration officers aged 27 to 46 who were on duty at the immigration counter.

"One of these officers was arrested through an operation in Johor while the other three were in KLIA," he said.

Khairul said out of the total number of syndicates busted, there were 42 Indonesian nationals, eight Indian nationals one Cambodian national, 52 Myanmar nationals and 16 local citizens in addition to the seizure of 14 vehicles used to transport the migrants involved.