Tuesday May 26, 2009
Customs smokes out beedi smugglers
PORT KLANG: A forwarding company’s attempt to smuggle in 9.8 million beedi (a South Asian cigarette) by declaring their consignment as sweet potatoes was foiled by the Customs Department.
Its enforcement team arrested a man after discovering the undeclared beedi worth some RM1mil in two 20-foot long containers last Thursday at the Klang Container Terminal in North Port at about 11am following a tip-off.
Selangor Customs director Datuk Roslan Yusof told reporters that the beedi, believed to have been smuggled in from Bangladesh, were packed under three layers of potatoes.
“We are investigating the forwarding company, which we believe is bogus, and others involved in the activity,” he said, adding that unpaid duties on the beedi amounted to RM387,000.
In another case, he said the department also found RM122,500 worth of undeclared cigarettes in a raid at an unoccupied house in Taman Indah Kapar, with unpaid duties amounting to RM422,780.
Roslan said Selangor Customs seized contraband kretek and cigarettes with unpaid duties totaling RM22.8mil in the first four months of this year. Last year the department foiled 163 cigarette smuggling attempts.
News Poll
- Teacher held for oral sex on Year Two girl
- Lau sought psychiatrist’s help after death of fan’s dad
- Police shoot dead leader of ‘Berong Gang’
- Australian court sentences Malaysian who posed as taxi driver
- Prime Minister comes up with plan to end crisis in MCA
- Fresh polls in six to eight months if new mechanism used
- Teoh Beng Hock exhumed for second autopsy (Update)
- Eli’s ex still being sought by cops
- Settle RM57, 5As pupil told High scorer can’t collect result slip
- Ong’s political secretary resigns
- 10 states see increase in number of dengue cases
- Teacher held for oral sex on Year Two girl
- AirAsia launches new flights to three Indian cities
- Australian court sentences Malaysian who posed as taxi driver
- Lau sought psychiatrist’s help after death of fan’s dad
- Prime Minister comes up with plan to end crisis in MCA
- Take care of yourself first
- Police shoot dead leader of ‘Berong Gang’
- Ministry sets eyes on ‘Sealegs’
- MACC accepts court decision
RSS
