BUTTERWORTH: Nearly RM4mil worth of contraband cigarettes and alcoholic beverages meant for the black market were seized in two separate operations in Penang.
Penang Customs Department acting director Ramizah Bee Salleh Ghany said in the first raid on April 22, 242,640 sticks of various cigarette brands were found in a shop in Tasek Gelugor.
The seized contraband was valued at RM263,233.08, including duties and taxes.
“A man in his 30s was detained at the premises, which was used as a storage facility for contraband goods.
“The illicit cigarettes were concealed inside a toilet, beneath piles of used boxes,” she told a press conference at the Bagan Jermal enforcement storage facility here yesterday.
In the second operation on April 24, enforcement officers raided an unoccupied warehouse in Mukim Telok Wang, Bukit Mertajam, where they found 130,800 sticks of illicit cigarettes and 63,674.30 litres of beer and liquor of various brands.
Ramizah said the total value of the seizure, including duties and taxes, was RM3,681,848.56.
Preliminary investigations indicated that the cigarettes and alcoholic beverages were intended for distribution in the local market.
She said the department was investigating whether both cases were linked with the same syndicate.
The cases are being investigated under Section 135(1)(d) of the Customs Act 1967 for possession of prohibited goods.
“If convicted, offenders face fines of between 10 and 20 times the value of the seized goods, or between RM100,000 and RM500,000, whichever is higher, jail of between six months and five years, or both,” she said.
Ramizah said the cigarettes and liquor were classified as prohibited imports under the Customs (Prohibition of Imports) Order 2023.
