00:00The M.A.C.C. has crippled a major smuggling syndicate, allegedly masterminded by senior
00:07armed forces officers operating in the southern part of the country.
00:11Sources said five senior military officers and five civilians, including an Indonesian
00:16woman, aged between 30 and 55, were arrested around the Klang Valley in simultaneous raids
00:21on Wednesday.
00:23The Indonesian woman, who was without valid travel documents, is believed to be the mistress
00:27of one of the military officers under investigation.
00:31The officers, from the Armed Forces Intelligence Unit, included two retired members of the same
00:36division, had been tasked with monitoring and preventing smuggling activities.
00:40However, they were alleged to have colluded with the syndicate over the past five years,
00:45amassing more than 3 million ringgit in illicit gains.
00:49Initial investigations revealed the suspects had also leaked military operational information
00:53to smugglers and conspired to bring in prohibited items.
00:57The smuggling activities were estimated to be worth around 5 million ringgit a month.
01:02A source said the suspects are believed to have received bribes of between 30,000 ringgit
01:07and 50,000 ringgit for each smuggling trip.
01:10The case is being investigated under section 16, subsection AB of the M.A.C.C. Act 2009.
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