Malaysiakini reporter B Nantha Kumar was detained late last night believed to be over an article on an alleged Pakistani cartel smuggling migrant workers into Malaysia.

An officer claiming to be from the MACC told the news portal that Nantha Kumar would be brought to the Putrajaya Magistrate’s Court for remand proceedings later this morning.

The officer also refused Malaysiakini’s request to speak to the reporter.

On Feb 22, Malaysiakini quoted a source claiming that a former immigration officer, who is now a “Datuk”, is the mastermind behind the alleged cartel operating at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).

Nantha has since been remanded for four days.

MACC chief Azam Baki denied that the journalist was arrested over the article Malaysiakini had published.

Instead, he said MACC officers had caught Nantha after he allegedly took a RM20,000 bribe from an agent that dealt with migrant workers.

The bribe was alleged to be a payoff so that two articles on the agent would not be published.

The agent then lodged a report with the MACC, leading to a sting operation.