KUCHING: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has busted a syndicate believed to have illegally imported frozen chicken from China and Poland since 2006 by falsely declaring the shipments as vegetables.
Chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Abdul Halim Aman said the syndicate was suspected of bribing officers at a port in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, to facilitate the illegal imports.
“Initial investigations found that the syndicate made false declarations for the imported frozen chicken by declaring the goods as vegetables,” he told reporters during a press conference at the MACC Sarawak Office Complex here today.
Abdul Halim said the method allegedly allowed the frozen chicken to be brought into the country without going through the inspection process prescribed by law.
“We detained seven individuals comprising three business operators and four civil servants during the operation,” he added.
All seven were subsequently remanded for three days beginning August 12 following an order by the Kota Kinabalu Magistrate’s Court.
MACC also seized 10 containers containing goods estimated to be worth RM3.75 million.
The tax leakage detected from the contents of the 10 containers alone was estimated at RM1.01 million, while seven mobile phones were also seized during the operations.
Abdul Halim said the operations, carried out with cooperation from the Sabah Veterinary Department and Royal Malaysian Customs Department, had enabled MACC to cripple the frozen chicken import syndicate.
MACC is also in the process of examining accounts belonging to companies linked to the investigation.
“The investigation is still ongoing and we are still trying to identify other individuals involved in the syndicate, while looking into other possible offences,” he said.
Abdul Halim said intelligence gathering and efforts to identify those involved had begun in early August before MACC’s Special Projects Branch mounted ‘Ops Chicks’ on August 11.
The case is being investigated under Section 17 of the MACC Act 2009 for offences related to bribery.
