Akhbar Satar of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners-Malaysian Chapter, said the illegal cigarette super-cartel with tentacles within Malaysia’s law enforcement agencies must be stopped.

Akhbar, who was formerly with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), said the cartels crippled recently were small fish compared to the illegal cigarette cartel.

“Over the years, illicit cigarette cartels have become more brazen and have devised new methods to bribe enforcement officers to cover up their trail,” he said.

“While not all enforcement officers or personnel can be bought, these illegal cigarette cartels are willing to use every avenue, including threats, to influence the officers to work with them.”

Malaysia is currently number one in the world for the illegal cigarette trade, with six out of 10 cigarettes sold in the market being illegal.

The country loses more than RM5 billion a year in uncollected tax revenue from the shadow economy.

“The profits reaped from this massive illegal trade by the cartels is more than enough to establish a super-cartel involving most, if not all, of our enforcement agencies,” he added.

“They have no problem in hiring lawyers to represent them in court and settle fines if they are caught with the contraband,” he said.

Akhbar suggested a regular shake-up of all enforcement agencies.

“Effective personnel rotation system should be in place at high-corruption areas such as seaports, airports and land borders,” he said.

He added that the government should also carry out an in-depth review of the supply chain including (but not limited to) shipping liners, forwarding agents, Customs agents, and importers to identify any weak points.

“The government should also look into improving facilities with advanced technologies such as state-of-the-art scanners and CCTVs at entry and exit points,” he added.

Akhbar said it was also important to make policy changes to address the root cause of the illegal trade, adding this could be done by empowering local enforcement agencies and encouraging officers to do their jobs earnestly.

In March, Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador said the police had busted a billion-ringgit scam network led by fugitive Nicky Liow with the arrest of 68 suspects, including two Datuk Seris and six Datuks.

The IGP had said a total of 34 officers from enforcement agencies were involved.

The MACC also crippled a government tender cartel with the arrest of eight individuals last week.