PUTRAJAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has revealed that it has thousands of video clips on smuggling activities along national borders since 2017 as a result of corrupt practices.
At a press conference held yesterday, the MACC screened a video clip at its headquarters office here which showed blatant smuggling activities along the border areas.
“What we show is just a sample of the clips, we have thousands and hours of clips,” said Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Latheefa Koya in the press conference.
Latheefa said all the videos obtained by MACC have been handed over to the police for
further action.
She also regarded MACC’s success in obtaining the thousands of videos as a breakthrough in the anti-corruption exercise against smuggling.
“We have stumbled upon clear cut evidence as to how it is being done by breaching the security.
“Because of this breakthrough, we now know how simple and easy it is to let this thing happen at the borders because of corruption,” she said.
Head of the audio video branch in the MACC forensics division, senior superintendent Badri Azni, said the modus operandi of the smugglers was to meet the security personnel on duty along the border.
“Each time there is going to be smuggling activities, they will try to approach the security personnel and give something, believed to be money, as a bribe to allow them (to carry out the smuggling),” he said.
Badri added that the smuggling would be carried out during the change of shifts of security forces, as early as between 6am and 9am. The smugglers’ camp, he said, would be located close to the guard post manned by the security forces so that they could monitor it.
“They (the smugglers) are not afraid of the law, and blatantly go through the inspection lanes, carrying the smuggled items,” he said.
The smuggled items include cooking oil, onions, retail goods which are cheaper in Malaysia than in the neighbouring country, fertilisers, diesel and petrol, he said.
In the video screened yesterday, the smugglers were seen carrying gunny sacks believed to contain ketum leaves.
Badri said the price of ketum leaves in Malaysia is RM18 per kg but in the neighbouring country it can go up to RM100 per kg.
The fence between the two countries was also damaged to allow the smugglers to go through while residents in the other country were seen ready to take the sacks to the vehicles waiting to transport them away. – Bernama
