"We have identified the suspects. We are still investigating but we
will make arrests soon," deputy police chief Noor Rashid Ibrahim told
reporters on Wednesday.
Malaysia uncovers immigration racket raising trafficking, security fears
Authorities in Malaysia
have uncovered an immigration racket involving the sabotage of a
computerised passport-screening system at its main international
airport, police said on Wednesday, raising worries about
human-trafficking and security.
The immigration
department fired 15 officials on Tuesday, took disciplinary action
against 22 and said it was investigating more in connection with the
security breach at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, which could have been going on for years.
Police said arrests were imminent.
"We have identified the suspects. We are still investigating but we will make arrests soon," deputy police chief Noor Rashid Ibrahim told reporters on Wednesday.
International and domestic syndicates were involved, Noor Rashid said, and he suggested the motive was human trafficking.
"The
syndicates overseas collaborate with the syndicates here. These
overseas syndicates - their responsibility is to bring the man over and
collect payments, while the syndicates here, their job is to accept.
These are the ones that tried to penetrate the system," he said.
Authorities
said last week the airport's passport-verification system was
deliberately disrupted at certain times of the day, possibly since 2010,
raising suspicion people were being smuggled through immigration when
it was down.
The revelations come after the
auditor-general said in a report tabled in parliament two weeks ago that
the immigration system was not functioning satisfactorily.
Human
rights groups have questioned Malaysia's efforts to combat human
trafficking after the discovery of mass graves of suspected migrants
near the border with Thailand last year.
Malaysia
has an estimated two million illegal migrant laborers, many of whom work
in the electronics, palm oil and construction sectors.
The immigration system breach has also raised concern about security.
Authorities
in the Muslim-majority country have arrested about 170 people since the
beginning of last year for suspected militant activity.
Last
month, Malaysia deported three foreign suspected militants and arrested
14 Malaysians on suspicion of links to Islamic State, including an
aircraft technician.
In March, deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said police had foiled an Islamic State plot to kidnap Prime Minister Najib Razak and other senior ministers last year.
Opposition
lawmaker R. Sivarasa said the sabotage warranted a major criminal
investigation and called for the police and the anti-corruption
commission to look into it.
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