BUTTERWORTH: Separate raids in Penang have foiled smuggling activities involving some RM2.67mil in cigarettes and alcoholic beverages, the Royal Malaysian Customs Department announces.
The state Customs director Rohaizad Ali said in the first raid on May 6, enforcement officers conducted a check on a lorry that was parked at a housing area in Bukit Mertajam.
"Inspection found 1,320,8000 sticks of kretek (clove cigarettes) and white cigarettes of various brands in the lorry's cargo compartment," he told a press conference at the Bagan Jermal enforcement storage facility on Wednesday (July 2).
Rohaizad said the value of the seized contraband is worth RM431,504, with a duty amount of RM1,346,382.40.
He said the lorry driver and co-driver aged in their 20s and 30s were arrested during the raid, adding that investigations found that the contraband items were smuggled in from a neighbouring country.
Rohaizad said the case is being investigated under Section 135(1)(d) of the Customs Act 1967, which carries a fine between RM100,000 and RM500,000, imprisonment of six months to five years, or both, upon conviction.
In a second raid on May 9, customs enforcement officers raided an empty house in Butterworth, where they found various brands of alcoholic beverages.
He said the contraband items that were seized are 15,288 cans of beer and 13,820 bottles of liquor.
He said the seized item was worth about RM236,737.20, with unpaid duties amounting to RM663,027.03.
"We have identified the owner of the house, who informed us that it had been rented out," he said.
Rohaizad added that investigations are still ongoing, and efforts are underway to trace the individual who rented the property.
He said the case is being investigated under Section 135(1)(d) of the Customs Act 1967, which carries a fine between RM100,000 and RM500,000, imprisonment of six months to five years, or both, upon conviction.
"Customs urges the public to help combat smuggling by providing information regarding any smuggling activities," he said.
