JOHOR BARU, July 30 — The Region Two Marine Police Force crippled a contraband smuggling syndicate with seizures consisting of 183,800 cigarettes and eight cartons of liquor of various brands worth RM141,768, including customs duties.
The seizures were made during an operation at a premises along Jalan 3/1 in Taman Kempas here yesterday.
Region Two (southern region) Marine Police Force commander Assistant Commissioner Muhd Zailani Abdullah said the police also arrested a 30-year-old male suspect in the 5.30pm raid.
He said the police had acted based on a tip-off and dispatched a team to monitor the back lane of the premises.
“After waiting for almost three hours, a man appeared and was seen unloading a brown box from the rear section of a Perodua Alza multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) into the premises before he was arrested,” said Muhd Zailani in a statement issued here today.
Muhd Zailani said as a result of a thorough inspection of the vehicle, the raiding team found several more cartons of alcohol in the back seat of the car.
“A further inspection also found a number of brown boxes, suspected to be contraband cigarettes, placed in the store behind the premises.
“All the cigarettes involved are suspected of not being taxed and meant for local consumption,” he said.
Muhd Zailani said the estimated total value of the seizures, including the vehicle and the cigarette duties, was at RM181,766.
He said initial investigations found that the suspect is believed to be involved in the distribution of the cigarettes.
“The case has been classified under Section 135 (1) (d) of the Customs Act 1967,” said Muhd Zailani.
