JOHOR BARU, May 31 — The Central Brigade of General Operations Force (GOF) seized 4,903 litres of contraband liquor worth RM1.127 million and 120,000 sticks of contraband cigarettes worth RM169,000 in a raid at a double-storey terrace house in Permas Jaya, here today.
Its commander SAC Muhammad Abdul Halim said in the raid GOF also detained four men aged between 20 and 30 believed to be the storekeepers handling the delivery of the illegal goods.
“The raid took place at 8.30am following a tip-off from the public and intelligence monitoring over two weeks.
“The two different types of liquor in glass bottles were packed in 500 boxes while the illegal cigarettes were packed in 12 large boxes,” he told a media conference held at the premises.
Muhammad added that apart from the contraband, GOF also seized three cars worth RM120,000; RM20,800 in cash; 36 copies of identity cards (Mykad) belonging to several people, six mobile phones and a packet of white powder believed to be ketamine weighing 0.5 gramme.
He said preliminary investigations revealed that the syndicate has been operating in the past three or four months by smuggling the contraband from neighbouring countries and distributing them to restaurants, sundry shops and other stores around the city as well as the southern zone of Johor.
They also found that the house is rented while the three cars had been modified in the rear passenger seat and boot to make it easier to hide the contraband.
It is also believed that the syndicate used the copies of the identity cards to buy liquor at duty-free zones here, he added.
“In terms of involvement, we believe that a network under this syndicate is still at large and we are trying to trace them,” he said.
The case is investigated under the Customs Act 1967, the National Registration Act 1959 and the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952. — Bernama
