BUTTERWORTH: The Customs Department in Penang thwarted an attempt to smuggle in 125 tonnes of copper scrap worth more than RM5mil at the North Butterworth Container Terminal on July 22.
State Customs Department director Datuk Rohizad Ali said all the goods were found following an inspection of five containers that arrived from Thailand.
"Investigations found that the goods were declared as used electronic components in the Customs forms, and the inspection found 125 tonnes of copper scrap (discarded copper material during manufacturing meant for recycling) worth RM5.29mil," he said at a press conference at the Bagan Jermal Enforcement Storage Facility here on Wednesday (Sept 10).
He said that following this, three individuals, aged 40 to 60, including a woman who was the company owner and an agent, were also detained to assist in the investigation.
He said the imported scrap metal was classified as a prohibited import item and was subject to Item 5, Fourth Schedule Part I, Customs (Prohibition on Imports) Order 2023, which required a permit from Sirim Bhd.
In a separate case, Rohizad said his party seized 438,824 cigarettes and 1,377.6 litres of various brands of liquor after raiding a house at Padang Serai in Kedah.
He said the raid was carried out earlier this month by a team from the Penang Enforcement Operations Unit based on intelligence gathered about the premises suspected to be a storage facility for prohibited imports.
"An inspection of the premises uncovered 438,824 sticks of cigarettes along with 1,377.6 litres of liquor worth RM168,395 and the duty involved was estimated to be RM366,444," he added.
Both cases are still being investigated under Section 135(1)(d) and Section 135(1)(a) of the Customs Act 1967. – Bernama
