KUALA TERENGGANU, June 28 — The Royal Malaysian Customs Department (JKDM) seized white cigarettes and keretek (clove cigarettes) worth RM807,718.12, including taxes, in four separate raids conducted between April 16 and May 3.

Terengganu JKDM director Hasbollah Din said the first raid on April 16 led to the arrest of two men while they were transporting boxes of cigarettes from two cars into a shop in the Besut district at about 12.45 am.

He said inspection of the premises uncovered 10,000 cigarettes worth an estimated RM9,020, including taxes.

“Two cars were also seized, while the two suspects were charged at the Besut Magistrate’s Court on April 22.

“The syndicate’s modus operandi was to distribute untaxed cigarettes to business premises at midnight to evade detection by enforcement authorities,” he said at a press conference today.

Hasbollah said the second raid on April 20 saw the seizure of 400,000 white cigarettes with a total estimated value of RM321,200 in Ops Peteh at an abandoned construction site in Besut.

He said smugglers were found to be using abandoned cabins as storage sites for undeclared cigarettes to avoid detection by the authorities.

Hasbollah said the third case involved the seizure of white cigarettes worth RM182,600, including tax, during a raid in the Pasir Pekan area of Kota Bharu, Kelantan, on April 25.

“In the raid at about 8.30 pm, the JKDM Marine Enforcement Team tracked and followed a vehicle suspected of transporting smuggled cigarettes along riverbanks in the Pasir Pekan area.

“However, the driver of the vehicle managed to evade arrest after acting aggressively and fleeing the scene before abandoning the vehicle in the Wakaf Bharu area. Inspection of the vehicle found 200,000 white cigarettes,” he said.

Hasbollah said the fourth raid took place at about 12.30 am on May 3 at a premises in Kota Bharu.

He said in the raid, JKDM seized 334,736 white cigarettes and kretek stored in a residence, as well as a Nissan Navara four-wheel drive vehicle.

“The contraband is estimated to be worth RM294,898.12, including tax, with the residential premises believed to have been used as a temporary storage site before the cigarettes were distributed to the local market,” he said. — Bernama