Malaysia smashes US$14 million people-smuggling syndicate, arrests police, soldiers
- The operation resulted in 122 arrests, including 14 police, five soldiers and four immigration officers that were on the smugglers’ payroll
- Officials estimate some 43,000 people were brought in and out of the country since 2014, which the police chief said undermined national security
Inspector-General of Police Ahmad Hamid Bador described the rogue security officers as “treasonous” and said they had enabled “thousands of migrants to breach” the country’s borders.
“From our investigations, the acts of these rogue security and immigration officers have greatly undermined national security. They do it out of greed,” he said.
From April 1 to July 8, Johor police arrested 122 suspects including 14 police, five soldiers and four immigration officers, crushing a 60 million ringgit (US$14.1 million) underground industry which has been in operation since 2014, according to Johor police chief Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay.
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The crackdown is seen as significant, he said, as it resulted in the arrest of a large number of corrupt security personnel and immigration officials.