PASIR MAS: The Customs Department has seized a total of 1,690,000 contraband cigarettes, worth RM1,133,990 including tax, in a raid at Kampung Gunong, near Bachok.
Its Kelantan branch director Wan Jamal Abdul Salam Wan Long said the seizure was conducted by the Rantau Panjang enforcement team at about 5am on July 24.
"During the operation, our team gave chase to the suspect, in his 30s, who was in a lorry suspected of being laden with the contraband.
"The suspect jumped from the moving vehicle and fled, resulting in the lorry crashing into some bushes.
“The inspection of the lorry resulted in the discovery of the cigarettes,” he said in a press conference at the Rantau Panjang enforcement office here today (July 30).
Wan Jamal Abdul Salam said investigations found that the illicit cigarettes were believed to have shipped from a neighbouring country.
"The department is still investigating to find the owner of the cigarettes and lorry.
"The cigarettes are believed to have been for distribution to the Klang Valley. The case is being investigated under Section 135(1)(d) of the Customs Act 1967," he added. - Bernama
