PONTIAN: Police arrested three men and seized contraband cigarettes worth RM225,600 during a raid near an authorised jetty here.
Johor police chief Comm Datuk Ab Rahaman Arsad said the operation was carried out near Sungai Sanglang near Jalan Tebing Kiri, Ayer Baloi by the Region Two Marine Police around 4am on Wednesday (Sept 24).
“Our team had earlier conducted surveillance at the jetty, which led to the arrest of the three men aged 19 to 69,” he said in a statement on Thursday (Sept 25).
“Checks found several black packages containing contraband cigarettes at the jetty,” he said.
Comm Ab Rahaman added that a further inspection of a car parked nearby uncovered more packages of contraband cigarettes placed in the front passenger seat, back seat and boot.
He said the items seized included five boxes of clove cigarettes, each containing 60 cartons, adding that there were also 54 transparent packages of clove cigarettes with 10 cartons each, and two boxes of white cigarettes with 50 cartons each.
Comm Ab Rahaman said police also confiscated a fibreglass boat and the car.
He added that the case is being investigated under Section 135(1)(d) of the Customs Act 1967 for protecting, storing, concealing or possessing uncustomed or prohibited goods.
If convicted, the offence carries a fine of up to RM500,000, imprisonment of up to five years or both.
He added that Johor police will continue to curb cigarette smuggling activities as such acts cause losses to the community and the country.
Comm Ab Rahaman urged the public to continue channelling information on any illegal activity to the police to safeguard national security.
