KOTA KINABALU: A smuggling ring in Sabah is believed to have been smashed with the arrest of 33 suspects over a series of operations starting Feb 1.
Contrabands and suspected smuggled items worth some RM8.8mil including tax, were also seized from these raids.
Sabah General Operations Force (GOF) commander Datuk Abdul Rani Alias said they believe these suspects were involved in smuggling of subsidised goods and other related crimes around the state.
“A total of 20 operations were conducted from Feb 1 to Feb 14, where GOF forces arrested these suspects comprising seven Filipino men, six Indonesian men and 20 locals - 19 men and a woman,” he said.
“With these raids, we believe that a syndicate of smugglers have been crushed,” he said, adding they believe these suspects had among other things, smuggled diesel, petrol and CPO and sold frozen food without the halal certificate and other documents.
Abdul Rani said items such as diesel, petrol, alcohol, crude palm oil (CPO), syabu, cigarettes, packet sugar, frozen meat, chicken and other frozen food were seized from these crackdowns.
He said there were seafood suspected of being caught outside designated areas that were also confiscated.
The GOF will continue with their operations and crackdowns on smuggling and other crimes, he said in urging the public to assist security forces in their bid to fight crime and protect the sovereignty of the nation.
Among the operations conducted and will continue to be carried out include Ops Taring Eszzone, Ops Kontraban, Ops Bersepadu Khazanah and Road Check Point (RCP).
