IT IS now more critical than ever to classify illegal cigarette smuggling as an organised crime that falls under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (SOSMA) and utilise the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2001 (AMLA) to take down its perpetrators, said former Sarawak police chief Datuk Dr Yusoff Nook.
He said that following a series of exposé by the media and confirmation from law enforcement agencies of illegal cigarette smuggling, kingpins have caused Malaysia to lose RM5bil in uncollected tax revenue every year.