KUCHING: Enforcement agencies foiled smuggling activities in both Sarawak and Sabah with significant hauls of contraband cigarettes and alcohol.
In Kuching, cigarettes and alcohol worth RM1.6mil were seized by the Customs Department from three premises.
Sarawak Customs director Norizan Yahya said three raids were carried out on Feb 25.
The raids were conducted based on intelligence from the department’s headquarters, he said.
“In the first case, Customs officers found 120,740 sticks of cigarettes of various brands and 6,826.27 litres of alcoholic beverages in the premises. A local man was arrested in the raid,” he told a press conference yesterday.
Norizan said 2,776.25 litres of alcohol were seized in the second case while the third raid resulted in the seizure of 331,520 sticks of cigarettes and 13,681.92 litres of alcohol.
Another local man was also arrested in the third raid.
The seized cigarettes and alcohol were valued at RM708,913 in total while the duties and taxes involved were estimated at RM917,466.
Norizan said all three premises were believed to have been used for storage, distribution and sale of the contraband items.
“The cases are being investigated under Section 135(1)(d) of the Customs Act,” he said, disclosing that they involved different syndicates.
He also urged the public to assist Customs in combating smuggling by reporting such activities to the customs toll-free line at 1-800-88-8855, or the nearest Customs office.
In KOTA KINABALU, contraband cigarettes worth almost RM1mil were seized in a raid on a water village in Sandakan last Sunday.
Marine police, who conducted the raid at the 3rd Mile water village, raided a house and found boxes of various brands of cigarettes valued at RM943,902.
Sandakan marine police commander Asst Comm Nazri Ibrahim said they had received tip-offs about the matter leading up to the operation dubbed “Op Taring Landai Khas”.
“In the 9.30pm crackdown, we discovered 20 boxes and 10 plastic bags of these cigarettes with duties not paid.
“The house is believed to have been used for storage before the items are distributed and sold in the local market,” he said.
All confiscated items were brought back to the marine base for further investigation under the Customs Act.
No suspects have been nabbed so far, said ACP Nazri.
