MELAKA: The Royal Malaysian Customs Department (JKDM) confiscated cigarettes, alcohol and imported rice worth over RM10.3 million smuggled into the country from April to Oct 1, said its deputy director-general, Datuk Sazali Mohamad.
He said the seizures were carried out through inspections in several areas in the Peninsula, especially in Port Klang, and through surveillance patrols conducted by his team.
"We foiled four attempts to smuggle in a total of 11,754,000 sticks of white cigarettes, two attempts to smuggle in 33,420 litres of alcohol, and one attempt to smuggle in 11,940kg of imported rice during that period," he told a press conference at Ayer Keroh Wisma Kastam here on Tuesday (Oct 17).
He said the biggest seizure involved a lorry with 5,084,000 sticks of cigarettes, valued at RM3,802,832, on Sept 3 at the rest and services (R&R) area of the Ayer Keroh overhead bridge restaurant along the North-South Expressway (southbound).
He said his men inspected the lorry at about 3.30 pm that day and found a stash of cigarettes loaded into boxes wrapped in black plastic.
"To avoid detection by us, the lorry travelled during the wee hours of the morning. The lorry driver, in his 40s, was detained," he said.
Sazali also said his team believed the cigarettes and alcohol were smuggled in from neighbouring countries through the waterways on the east coast before being distributed to the southern areas (of the Peninsula) for the foreign worker market.
He added that another modus operandi used by the smugglers was to declare the imported goods as some other items and use unnumbered and dilapidated premises to carry out their liquor processing and bottling operations.
Those with information on smuggling activities can call the JKDM toll-free number at 1-800-88-8855 or contact the nearest Customs office.- Bernama
