Government urged to set up elite enforcement team to fight Super Cartel

KUALA LUMPUR 29 April – An elite team that embodies the virtues of integrity, bravery and morality is critical to overcome the illegal cigarettes super cartel, said a former State Police Chief of Sarawak, Datuk Dr. Yusoff Nook, in a statement today. 

Yusoff’s comments came following recent reports of four officers from the Royal Malaysian Customs Department being charged for releasing two containers of seized illegal cigarettes.  

He said, “This unprecendented case underscores the severity of criminal infiltration into our law enforcement agencies that have propelled Malaysia into the No.1 spot of illegal cigarettes trafficking in the world.

This endemic problem can only be overcome if we have an elite team like The Untouchables spearheading the Multi-Agency Task Force (MATF), which has been operationalised to counter the illegal cigarettes trade problem,” he added, citing the 1987 classic that featured Sean Connery and Kevin Costner.

Yusoff confirmed that the illegal cigarettes business is currently being facilitated by a super cartel involving high ranking people from both the private and public sectors.

“Malaysia losses RM5 billion each year in uncollected tax revenue to this economic crime. If this problem has been resolved earlier, the Government do not have to utilise this same amount of money from the National Trust Fund (KWAN) to fund our vaccination programme,” he added.

In order to form The Untouchables of Malaysia, Yusoff proposed that it is important to populate the MATF with individuals who have the right character, track record and skill-set.

“Individuals like the current Inspector General of Police, Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador, or his subordinate, Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay, the Johor Police Chief, are prime examples of those who dare to go against the grain and do the necessary for the sake of our nation,” Yusoff said.

“Our team of The Untouchables in MATF cannot operate beyond the law but can carry out their duties with out-the-box approach, utilising state-of-the-art technologies and techniques available in modern law enforcement today.

"This approach will enable MATF to accomplish significantly more than what it has done to date in order  to shut down this illegal cigarettes trade once and for all,” he concluded.

The Untouchables is a 1987 American movie directed by Brian De Palma and produced by Art Linson.  The film stars Kevin Costner, Charles Martin Smith, Andy García, Robert De Niro, and Sean Connery, and follows Eliot Ness (Costner) as he forms The Untouchables team to bring Al Capone (De Niro) to justice during the Prohibition period in the United States.  - DagangNews.com