Large haul: Hamisan (centre) with his officers showing the smuggled cigarettes which were hidden in boxes of instant noodles during the press conference at Penang Customs enforcement office in Bagan Jermal, Butterworth. — ZHAFARAN NASIB/The Star
BUTTERWORTH: On the import manifest, they appeared as “Instant Noodles”.
However, the Customs Department did not buy the idea and decided to search the container with 1,832 boxes of instant noodles at West Port in Port Klang.
True enough, officers managed to botch an attempt to smuggle in 5,771,520 sticks of cigarettes worth about RM461,721 with unpaid duties of RM3.7mil.
Penang Customs Department director Hamisan Kalip said an investigation found that the container was handled by a shipping and logistics company with a branch office in Port Klang.
He said the company’s 47-year-old director was detained soon after the inspection, adding that the operation was carried out by the department’s enforcement and narcotics division on Oct 26.
“During the inspection, several boxes containing only instant noodles were placed on top.
“The rest of the boxes with a mix of the noodles and the contraband cigarettes were kept at the bottom. After going through the paperwork, we found the items were brought in from a West Asian country.“The company had tried to pass off the contraband items as instant noodles, which are meant for local distribution,” he said at a press conference yesterday.
Hamisan said the suspect, who has since been released on bail, has no previous criminal record.
“Investigation is still ongoing to identify other suspects involved in this case,” he added.
