Customs officers chase down RM1.8mil worth of illegal alcohol

Highway drama: Abdul Latif briefing the media at a press conference on the incident. — THOMAS YONG/The Star

JOHOR BARU: About RM1.8mil worth of illegal alcohol has been seized after a 30-minute action-packed chase of a cargo lorry by Customs officers, which led to shots being fired.

Customs Department director-general Datuk Seri Abdul Latif Abdul Kadir defended the decision by his men to fire seven shots at the tyres of the lorry.

No one was injured during the drama near the Second Link on Thursday afternoon.

“The lorry driver’s act of reversing into the department’s vehicle was dangerous and could threaten the lives of my men and other road users,” he said, adding that the incident was filmed by a passer-by.

The department with the help of the Iskandar Puteri police arrested the driver and seized the alcohol.

“My men were tailing the lorry from the Sultan Iskandar highway but other vehicles, which we believe are part of the syndicate, tried to stop our enforcement team.

“We instructed the lorry driver to stop, but he ignored our order. The driver sped off, hitting several police cars that were assisting the department to stop the lorry,” he said at a press conference at the Johor Customs Department headquarters here yesterday.

Soon after the shots were fired, said Abdul Latif, the lorry driver stopped the vehicle by the side of the road and attempted to flee on foot.

“However, police and officers from the Customs Department managed to arrest the 44-year-old Malaysian man about 1km from the scene,” he said.

He said the value of the alcohol seized was about RM284,000 while the taxes amounted to RM1.6mil, bringing the total to RM1.8mil.

The case is being investigated under Section 135(1)(e) and Section 136(a) of the Customs Act and Section 74(1)(d) of the Excise Act.

The chase was captured in a brief video, showing a man in a Customs Department vehicle firing multiple shots at the tyres of the lorry.

This was done after the lorry driver braked sharply before reversing into the department’s vehicle.

“We hope the person who recorded the video will come forward to help us in the investigation,” Abdul Latif said.