RM6 mil frozen in 12 custom officers' accounts

KUALA LUMPUR: Authorities have frozen over RM6 million in the bank accounts of 12 rogue customs officers and a cigarettes and liquor smuggling syndicate, which was crippled with the arrest of 12 suspects including a state customs director yesterday.
MACC deputy chief commissioner (operations) Datuk Seri Mohd Syukri Abdull said around RM4 million frozen were in the bank accounts of the customs personnel while the RM2 million belonged to syndicate members.
In all, a total of 207 accounts belonging to companies and individuals were frozen.
Mohd Syukri said following the raid in the Klang Valley and Ipoh, authorities have also seized RM3 million cash, 10 luxury cars, a liquor factory and a shophouse unit.
The 12 rogue customs personnel, aged between 36 and 56, have been remanded for seven days from today for further investigations.
An integrated task force headed by the Attorney-General's Chambers involving the MACC, police, Inland Revenue Board, Bank Negara and CyberSecurity, had in an operation yesterday arrested 24 people, including customs personnel and syndicate members.
"Half of them are customs personnel of various positions and another 12 were syndicate members comprising company owners, their agents and lorry drivers," Mohd Syukri said.
He told a press conference today the government lost RM1.2 billion in undeclared taxes on cigarettes and liquor since 2011 due to the activities of the syndicate.
Mohd Syukri said the government lost a large amount of money because the syndicate just declared RM400 million from the total of RM1.6 billion payable.
"The rogue customs personnel had been offering 'protection' to the syndicate and abusing the facilities at the tax-free zone in Port Klang.
Following investigations and surveillance for more than a year, the task force launched the operation and crippled what is believed to be the biggest syndicate involved in smuggling cigarettes and liquor in the tax-free zone at the port.
The cigarettes and alcohol were believed to be from Scotland, Sweden, India, China, Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia were smuggled into the port and kept in the tax-free zone before they were released without proper duty declaration.
Meanwhile, Customs Director-General Datuk Seri Khazali Ahmad, in a statement today, said the department had not received any report from MACC over the arrest of its personnel.
He however stressed that his department will cooperate fully with MACC in the investigations.
"We will not protect any of our officers who may be involved in criminal activities," he added.