A corruption racket has been uncovered at the Immigration Division, where millions of dollars were allegedly paid over the years for citizenship, residency permits, work permits and passport appointments, Minister of Homeland Security Roger Alexander has said.In response to questions from the Express yesterday, the minister confirmed that investigations were conducted into Immigration officials and employees at the Division who have allegedly been charging members of the public for passport appointments for several years.However, he said this was just the tip of the iceberg, with officials charging $90,000 and upwards for residency papers and work permits for this country.There are also reports of Chinese nationals constructing homes for officials in North Trinidad in exchange for T&T residency, he stated.Alexander said the Division was “rotten to the core” and noted that a major shake-up had been undertaken, with several officials sent on leave.“There are persons paying as much as $90,000 for citizenship, for residency. People would apply for work permits, etc, and these corrupt persons would hold the documents, and saying it is by the minister for signature. The minister may have already signed it but they held these documents to collect monies. Some of the transactions took place right outside (a private) car park in Port of Spain,” he said.He said the racket had been operating for several years undetected because of a lack of oversight, accountability and transparency within the system.“Some of these Immigration officers are smart and seasoned. They would not collect the money directly and would hide papers until they are paid through various means. This is a racket we met there, on arrival by my third day,” he said.The minister said there were also instances in which people entered the country and secured residency papers without being interviewed.“We have information about some Chinese persons who would have constructed homes for persons in North Trinidad, these were officials attached to the Immigration department. It is a racket where persons were benefiting tremendously,” he said.Alexander said he took immediate action to dismantle the corruption.“We had to toss up and shake up the ministry. We also met questionable arrangements where the Immigration department has a partnership with an international firm and no matter what we try to do differently there was strong objection and insistence on the use of that particular firm which has a locknet on the Immigration department,” he said.The minister said he did not understand the huge payments being made to the firm when there were more competitive and lower-cost alternatives elsewhere, particularly for items such as passports.“This department was a disaster waiting to happen, rotten to the core,” he said.Alexander said there was also a history of the Immigration Division not taking instructions from the Ministry.“There were persons who were deliberately not passing on the instructions and information to the Immigration department. We have information where foreign persons were blocked from entering the country and we are investigating who they were acting on behalf of,” he said.The minister said the police and the Cyber Crime Unit are investigating the matter.He emphasised that the scheme had been taking place for years.Alexander urged members of the public, as well as employees within the Ministry, to become whistleblowers and provide information to law enforcement, anonymously if they wished.Documents now monitored daily after Immigration ‘madness’ Alexander said the alleged activities represented a flagrant abuse of power and affected services provided to taxpayers.Alexander said he could not disclose all the measures taken to dismantle the corruption ring, but warned that anyone engaging in such behaviour going forward would have to be “extremely brave” to try.“The system now with respect to the signature now of the Minister and all the documents are monitored daily. There are some persons who will soon be interviewed by the police, we are collating the information and will make a breakthrough in the madness that has been happening at the Immigration department,” he said.He explained that corrupt employees were also blocking spots online for passport appointments and selling them for cash.He said the ministry was working to address the issue and ensure that the online appointment system operates seamlessly.Alexander said efforts were underway not only to root out corruption but also to modernise the system through the implementation of e-passports.“We will be moving on from the machine-readable passports to e-passports which would provide more accountability. We are changing with the times and upgrading the system,” he said.The minister said they were also working to bolster staffing and dismantle the existing status quo.“The Immigration department was left unsupervised and out of control for years,” he said, adding that recruitment had stalled and manpower resources were limited.Alexander said Government was now attempting to fill vacancies.Some staff members at the Ministry had been operating on a month-to-month basis, he pointed out.Some individuals believed they had the upper hand and were trying to determine what information police possessed, but he assured there would be no turning back or turning a blind eye to the situation.Alexander said those responsible would face the full brunt of the law and could continue their behaviour “from the jail cell”.“We have cooperation from employees and also members of the public who came forward and asked why should they have to pay for a service by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago,” he said.“Those involved in this racket are very skilled and they were only moving the applications of those who were paying. We discovered a lot of applications from Caribbean residents remained on the desk for the past ten years whilst others were being approved, some of them without an interview. It is a million-dollar racket happening for years” he said.He said Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who heads the National Security Council, was aware of the situation and the action taken.“The Prime Minister told us that corruption under the system would not be tolerated. That is why we are going hard and I want to thank all the agencies for their technical support in this matter together with law enforcement,” he said.