Kuala lumpur: Eighteen enforcement officers remanded by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) yesterday were from the Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS). AKPS Director-General Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain, in confirming the matter, said all officers were stationed at Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. He has also contacted MACC Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki to express his support for the actions taken to combat corruption and pledged full cooperation in assisting the investigation by the graftbusters.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, "The 18 who were remanded involved AKPS officers, while the others are believed to have colluded with the syndicate. I believe their involvement dates back much further than the establishment of AKPS," he said when met after attending the launch of the Mid-Term Review of the Defence White Paper here today.

Yesterday, MACC apprehended 27 individuals, including 18 enforcement agency officers, suspected of being involved in a counter-setting syndicate that facilitated the entry of foreign nationals into the country without following proper procedures. Sources revealed that the suspects, comprising 19 men and eight women, aged between 20 and 50, were apprehended during an operation conducted across Selangor, Melaka, Kuala Lumpur, and Negeri Sembilan.

The sources added that MACC has frozen 40 bank accounts, comprising 34 individual accounts and six company accounts, with a total value exceeding RM1 million following the operation. The commission had also applied for remand orders at the Magistrate's Courts in Shah Alam, Melaka, Seremban and Kuala Lumpur this morning, and all the suspects are now remanded for between three and seven days starting from Sept 12 to 16.