PORT KLANG: Selangor Customs has thwarted an attempt to smuggle rice, firecrackers and scrap metal worth RM18.32mil, including duties and taxes, in a recent operation.
Central Zone assistant director-general Dr Ahmad Taufik Sulaiman said the seizures were carried out under Ops Barrier, conducted from Jan 20 to 30, and Ops Petasan from March 3 to Friday (March 28).
"Enforcement seized 32 containers, each measuring 40 feet, from the premises of registered firecracker importers located in Selangor, Perak, Penang and Johor.
"These containers contained various types of firecrackers that failed to meet the technical specifications and import permit guidelines set by the Home Ministry and police", he told reporters at the Selangor Customs Office in North Port on Friday.
Ahmad Taufik said the total confiscated goods from both operations amounted to 57.8 tonnes, valued at RM1.48mil, with duties and taxes totalling RM978,247.
Meanwhile, Selangor Customs also seized 544.8 tonnes of rice worth RM2.01mil, with duties and taxes amounting to RM805,651, after it was found to have been imported without a permit from an Asian country.
"On Feb 17, Customs officers detained a 20-foot container in the North Port Free Zone, uncovering 19.7 tonnes of rice. Another 525 tonnes of rice were found in 20 more containers at West Port.
"Preliminary checks revealed that the importer falsely declared the rice shipment as puffed rice, snacks, coriander powder, turmeric powder, chicken curry powder, masala powder and sodium chloride to mislead authorities," he said.
Ahmad Taufik said customs officers also seized 69 containers with 1,662.7 metric tons of iron and aluminium scrap worth RM13.07mil during Ops Tinman at the West Port Free Zone from Feb 1 to 28.
He said the containers' contents were falsely declared as aluminium alloy, copper scrap, aluminium scrap and machinery parts from a country in the Americas.
All three cases are being investigated under Sections 133(1)(a) and 135(1)(a) of the Customs Act 1967. – Bernama
