Sarong from China worth RM1.6mil seized during raid at Sabah condo

KOTA KINABALU: Sarong worth over RM1.6mil were confiscated from a condominium unit in Kolombong near here following weeks of surveillance.

State Customs Department assistant director general Datuk Mohd Nasir Deraman said during the raid, they confiscated a total of 439 sacks containing 175,600 pieces of sarong that were subject under the Customs (Prohibition of Import) Order 2023.

He said Customs officers and the Customs Operational Battle Force Response Assault (Cobra) unit carried out the bust at around 5pm on Jan 5.

“The seized goods weighed 39,510kg and are valued at RM1,635,318,” he said during a press conference on Thursday (Feb 29).

Mohd Nasir said a foreign woman, in her 30s, was detained to assist in investigations.

Preliminary investigation found that all the 439 sacks were imported from China and were declared as garment fabrics, he said.

He said the shipper used another tariff code while the description of the goods were not correctly stated in the Customs declaration form.

On why it took the department almost two months to reveal the case, Mohd Nasir said there were many aspects to investigate and that they had to get clearer details before announcing the success.

He said the case is currently being investigated for importing uncustomed and prohibited goods under the Customs Act 1967.