Its director-general Mustafar Ali said the officers are currently being held for further investigations at the immigration headquarters in Putrajaya.
Although he did not reveal the number of officers detained, Mustafar said if they were proven to be involved in the smuggling ring, stern action would be taken including dismissal.
“But it would depend on their level of involvement in the matter.
“As for internal action, I cannot reveal specifically, but firm action will be taken,” he told reporters after the Immigration Department monthly assembly here today.
On Thursday, a local daily exposed a Bangladeshi smuggling ring operating in KLIA, run by four major syndicates based in Kuala Lumpur and Dhaka, Bangladesh.
The syndicates were said to have raked in RM5.2 million in profits by imposing charges of between RM15,000 and RM20,000 per worker. This included money to bribe the authorities, especially officers of the Immigration Department and the Malaysian High Commission in Dhaka.
Mustafar said his department had also sent a special action unit to Bangladesh on Sunday, headed by officers of the Visa, Pass and Permit Division, Integrity Division and Expatriate Services Division to strengthen the standard operating procedure for the issuance of visas to visitors from Bangladesh.
In a separate development, he said the department was prepared to accept applications from employers to obtain a special permit for domestic maids, which will available online from Jan 1 next year.
“The process is faster and cheaper, and applications made without going through agents or middlemen will take between seven and 16 days,” he said.
From Jan 1, employers only need to pay RM3,500 to RM4,000 for the levy, visit pass, visa and other processes compared to RM12,000 to RM18,000 via agents.
In the tabling Budget 2018, Prime Minister Najib Razak announced that the government was giving employers the choice of recruiting domestic maids directly from nine countries without going through agents.