IPOH: The Perak Customs Department made its biggest hit of the year after seizing contraband cigarettes worth more than RM2mil.
Its director Datuk Abdul Ghafar Mohamad said the raids were conducted at two locations on Nov 23 – the first at an empty house in a residential area in Sitiawan where a total of 2,568,470 sticks of cigarettes worth RM2,032,372.21 were found.
The other raid, conducted earlier that day at an abandoned house in Pantai Remis, found various cigarette brands worth RM100,907.40, he said.
“There were 127,200 sticks of cigarettes stored in the living room. We also believed that the confiscated items were kept there due to unpaid duties,” he told a press conference at the state department’s headquarters in Taman Meru here yesterday.
Abdul Ghafar said the department was liaising with other agencies to trace the house owners.
“It took us about a week before conducting the raids. The contraband items were found in boxes wrapped in plastic.
“There were various brands found and we believe they were smuggled in by sea. Based on previous cases, we believe that some are from Vietnam and Indonesia. The contraband is believed to be for the local market,” he said.
The cases are being investigated under Section 135(1)(d) of the Customs Act 1967, an offence punishable under Section 135(1)(v)(aa) of the same legislation.
Offenders can be fined 10 times the value of the goods or RM100,000, whichever is higher, or jailed between six months and five years, or both upon conviction.
Abdul Ghafar said more than 420 cases were handled by the state department from January to November this year.
“To date, the total value of confiscated items such as contraband, liquor, vehicles and drugs was over RM11mil,” he added.
