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KOTA KINABALU – An immigration officer in Tawau was detained along with two other men here for their alleged involvement in human trafficking activities.
Sources revealed that the 35-year-old officer was arrested with the two men, who were in their 40s and 50s, believed to be working as agents, for the release of Indonesian migrants from the Tawau airport.
The authorities are also looking into RM12,000 gained from the alleged activities.
“They are believed to be linked to a syndicate actively smuggling groups of undocumented foreign workers by commercial flights from Tawau to Kuala Lumpur,” the source said.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had called the suspects around 6pm on Thursday and they were held for 24 hours to assist in the probe.
It is understood that no remand was applied for from the courts.
“The case involves Indonesian nationals being able to fly to Kuala Lumpur from Tawau without going through immigration checks at the Tawau airport,” said the source.
Sabah MACC director Datuk S. Karunanithy confirmed the arrests and said the case will be investigated under Section 17(a) of the MACC Act 2009.
The arrests follow the arrest of six other immigration officers in Tawau over the alleged smuggling of Filipino migrants into Peninsular Malaysia via the Tawau airport in March.
Authorities believe a syndicate was behind the smuggling of undocumented foreign workers between Tawau and Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) since 2018.
They were all arrested in an operation code-named Op Lancar.
Four other civilians suspected to be agents were also arrested at KLIA and in the Tawau area. – The Vibes, July 15, 2023