KOTA BARU: The General Operations Force (GOF) South-East Brigade foiled two separate smuggling attempts involving liquor and 1,600 fruit saplings, with a total value of RM413,500, in operations in Rantau Panjang and Pasir Mas.
Brigade commander Senior Asst Comm Ahmad Radzi Hussain said the successes on Tuesday (June 16) were achieved under Ops Taring Wawasan Kelantan carried out by members of the 8th GOF Battalion to strengthen security control along the border.
He said in the first case, personnel at the Cabang Empat Salam roadblock in Rantau Panjang stopped a pikcup truck carrying two men, aged 33 and 23, at 6.30am.
Upon inspecting the vehicle, they found several boxes and cartons of liquor of various brands hidden in the rear passenger seat area.
"Initial investigations found that the liquor was bought in Thailand and brought into the country via illegal jetties around Kampung Kedap, Rantau Panjang," he said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that the value of the seizure was estimated at RM103,500, including the vehicle used to transport the contraband.
In a separate case, GOF personnel detained a lorry at Kampung Lalang Pepuyu, Pasir Mas at 12.30pm and discovered 1,600 saplings of various types being transported by a 23-year-old driver and a 60-year-old assistant.
"The driver failed to produce any documentation for the cargo. Investigations found that the saplings are believed to have been brought in from a neighbouring country and are suspected of carrying pests that could harm the country’s agricultural sector," he said.
According to SAC Ahmad Radzi, the total seizure involving the saplings and the lorry was estimated to be worth RM310,000.
Initial investigations found that all the saplings were obtained from a nursery in Kampung Limau Purut, Rantau Panjang, before being sent to the Tunjong Rural Transformation Centre (RTC) here.
He said the liquor seizure is being investigated under Section 135(1)(d) of the Customs Act 1967, while the sapling smuggling is being investigated under Section 5 of the Plant Quarantine Act 1976. – Bernama
