JOHOR BARU: The Federal Government should allow police to investigate contraband smuggling activities under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma), proposes the Johor police chief.
Comm Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay (pic) said that currently the case is only investigated under the Customs Act, which is not enough to conduct a full investigation or take stern action against smuggling syndicates.
“For example, if we arrest lorry drivers that transport these contraband items, the court would only give them a fine of RM1,000 under the Customs Act, whereas they get paid more than RM3,000 per shipment and some of them have been arrested multiple times.
“We have also identified the syndicate masterminds but it is hard to pin them down under the Customs Act, but if we investigate the cases under Sosma, we can take action on the whole syndicate from top to bottom, ” he said during a press conference at Johor police headquarters on Wednesday (Nov 25).
He added that the change is crucial as the government suffered losses close to RM5bil every year due to the smuggling activities.
“All of the paperwork (for the proposal) has been completed and will be brought over to the Home Ministry and Attorney General Chambers by Bukit Aman, ” he added.
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