Thursday February 4, 2010
Langkawi liquor smuggling bid foiled
ALOR SETAR: Smugglers are apparently trying to cash in on the demand for liquor for the coming festive season by bringing in the alcoholic drinks from duty-free Langkawi through various means.
This included hiding 8,448 bottles of liquor of various brands in a 12m-long container carrying metal beds from the island resort.
The contrabrand liquor, worth about RM547,400 with unpaid duties totalling RM826,389, was seized by Customs officers and the Kedah Anti-Smuggling Unit at about 4pm on Monday at the Kuala Kedah jetty near here.
Kedah Customs director Saadon Mohd Dros said the liquor was found hidden behind stacks of boxes containing metal beds in the container which had just arrived from Langkawi.
“The container was declared as carrying metal beds but we decided to make a thorough inspection by bringing it back to our enforcement office in Alor Setar,” he told a press conference here yesterday.
He said the department had questioned a 37-year-old man, who acted as the middleman to bring out the liquor from Langkawi.
In Penang, a luxury yacht which sailed from Langkawi was found with 253 bottles and cans of liquor and beer with unpaid duties totaling more than RM40,000 when it was stopped by a Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency boat near the Penang Bridge at about 10.15pm on Monday.
MMEA Maritime 2 (Penang) district enforcement head Commander Robert Teh Geok Chuan said the yacht’s three crew members were arrested and their statements recorded before they were released on police bail.
“We have seized the yacht for investigations and are tracing the owner,” Commander Teh told a press conference in George Town yesterday.
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