Perak Customs Dept seizes RM2.8mil worth of illicit liquor

IPOH: An attempt to smuggle liquor worth RM2.8mil into the country to avoid paying taxes was thwarted by the authorities recently.

The Perak Customs Department had seized the illicit hard liquor of various brands at three separate locations, one in Kuala Lumpur and two other raids conducted in Ipoh.

Perak Customs director Datuk Abdul Ghafar Mohamad said this success is a collaborative strategic effort between the department’s units, branches and divisions.

He said the raids were carried out by the department’s Pengkalan Hulu Station branch enforcement team, and three men aged between 48 and 64 were arrested to assist in the investigation.

“For the first case on Oct 14, a raid was carried out around 4.30pm at a premises in Bandar Sri Damansara in Kuala Lumpur and the team found 6,100.6 litres of liquor without valid import procedures.

“In the second case, on Oct 18, around 1pm, the team raided a premises here, and as a result, a total of 17,477.90 litres of liquor of various brands suspected of not being cleared by the customs were seized.

“On the same day (Oct 18), at around 3.30pm, another location in Ipoh was raided, and a total of 9,278.64 litres of hard liquor was discovered,” he said in a statement issued on Saturday (Oct 26).

Abdul Ghafar added that all the three cases would be investigated under Section 135 (1) (d) of the Customs Act 1967.

He said the public is urged to help the department fight smuggling activities, especially when it comes to cigarettes, liquor, firecrackers, drugs, and vehicles.

“Smuggling not only harms the country in terms of revenue, in fact it also poses a threat to national security and the well-being of the people.

“The public can channel information related to smuggling by calling the Customs Toll Free Line at 1-800-88-8855 or the customs office in any of the states.

“We assure that the identity of each informant is kept confidential,” he said.