Malaysia Busts Arms Smuggling Ring Masterminded by Military Officers

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has crippled a major weapons smuggling syndicate allegedly masterminded by senior Armed Forces officers operating in the southern part of the country.

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KUALA LUMPUR -

The bust, codenamed Ops Sohor, was carried out by the MACC's Intelligence Division with support from its Anti-Corruption Tactical Squad.

Sources said five senior military officers and five civilians, including an Indonesian national, aged between 30 and 55, were arrested around the Klang Valley in simultaneous raids on Aug 13.

The officers, from the Armed Forces' intelligence unit, included two retired members of the same division.

They had been tasked with monitoring and preventing smuggling activities, but are believed to have colluded with the syndicate over the past five years, allegedly amassing more than RM3 million (S$915,000) in illicit gains.