Senior immigration officer arrested in 'fly' syndicate probe - source

At least three immigration officers in Johor and an agent have been arrested by the MACC as part of a probe on an RM1.2 million “fly” syndicate, according to a source.

This includes a senior officer from the Immigration Department.

A “fly” syndicate refers to a fraudulent scheme where migrant workers’ travel documents are marked with entry and exit stamps to “legalise” those who overstayed or are blacklisted.

The source from the Immigration Department headquarters in Putrajaya told Malaysiakini that the arrests were made last Wednesday during an MACC operation with assistance from the department.

The detained immigration officers gave their statements at the MACC office in Johor Bahru, while the Malaysian agent was apprehended at the Seremban R&R stop in Negeri Sembilan.

The immigration officers are alleged to have been involved in corruption and money laundering, in collusion with agents who enable migrant workers to extend their stay in Malaysia.

However, the source is unsure how long they had been detained and whether the MACC was able to obtain a remand order.

Malaysiakini has contacted the MACC and one of the officers involved but has yet to receive a response.

One of two masterminds

Meanwhile, the source claimed that the senior Immigration Department officer who had been arrested was a former close associate of “DK”, allegedly a key figure in syndicates involving the department.

“This officer used to be closely linked with ‘DK’.

“(He) is alleged to have been involved in the ‘fly’ or ‘U-turn’ syndicate,” the source added.

DK is a Malaysian businessperson from Johor. Malaysiakini had previously reported that DK and “Tok Yah” (a senior official in a government agency) are the two alleged masterminds still at large.

The “fly” syndicate is a scheme used to “cleanse” foreign nationals who have overstayed or are blacklisted by falsifying their entry and exit stamps.

“An agent would wait somewhere. Immigration Department personnel involved would then conspire to bring out an official stamp to meet the agent at the agreed location.

“Then, they would stamp all the passports the agent had brought and would be given cash in an envelope as payment. The personnel would return and split the payments.

“Overstayers would then have a new entry stamp valid for 30 days, so if they were stopped, they would not be arrested because they have a new and valid entry stamp,” a Home Ministry source told Malaysiakini.

Ineffective deterrents

The source attributed the persistence of such syndicates to lenient punishments and the failure to apprehend key masterminds.

According to the source, the MACC launched Ops Selat in 2020 to crack down on corrupt practices between syndicates and immigration officers.

Sixty-six people were arrested during the operations conducted from Nov 16 to Nov 30 that year, comprising 39 immigration officers, 17 agents, and 10 members of the public.

Assets and cash worth RM15.78 million were reportedly seized during the operation.

On Dec 11 and Dec 14, 2020, two syndicate agents pleaded guilty to offences under Section 214 of the Penal Code and were each fined RM10,000 and sentenced to one month in prison. Cash totalling RM21,000 was forfeited.

On Dec 14 and Dec 16, 2020, eight Immigration officers were separately charged in the Sessions Courts in Kota Bharu, Johor Bahru, Butterworth, Shah Alam, Malacca, and Kuala Terengganu.

The officers pleaded guilty to offences under Section 165 of the Penal Code and Section 25(1) of the MACC Act 2009 and were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 30 days to 12 months and fined between RM2,000 and RM40,000.

“You’ve seen the penalties imposed on them.

“Fines of just RM2,000 or RM10,000 are clearly disproportionate to the tens of millions received in bribes.

“This is one of the main reasons the syndicates cannot be crippled,” the source explained.

They added that as long as the “big fish” remain at large, such syndicates will continue to operate. - Mkini