Federal CID chief Shuhaily Zain gave the warning, saying he had learnt that some police officers were receiving money from these syndicates in exchange for information about investigations.

He said such action amounted to “sacrificing” their colleagues.

“This has to be seriously looked at by commanding officers and supervisors in all CIDs across the country,” he was quoted by Berita Harian as saying.

“How can a sergeant own an Alphard, Vellfire or a Mercedes? Have these commanding officers or supervisors asked how they could own them? Have they made (asset) declarations,” he said at a closed-door conference of CID chiefs held at Universiti Sains Malaysia.

Video footage of his speech has been posted on the Facebook page of the Royal Malaysia Police.

Shuhaily said the ignorance of supervising and commanding officers was a big part of the problem, adding that some of them were also on syndicates’ payrolls. He also said he had heard about commanding officers and juniors buying expensive cars and number plates together.

He said all 130 CID chiefs across the country had been put on notice and reminded them that a freeze on promotions had been proposed if they failed to adequately monitor those under their command.