BUTTERWORTH: Over 9,000 litres of alcoholic beverage have been found at an abandoned house in Jelutong here.
Penang Customs Department director Roselan Ramli said the contraband items were seized during a raid at about 6.30pm on July 4.
"After monitoring the house for a day, officers and personnel from state customs enforcement team, raided the house located at Jalan Kota Giam," he said in a press conference on Friday (July 19).
He said through inspection, the team found a total of 21,648 cans of alcoholic beverages of various brands at the abandoned house.
He said the contraband items were valued at RM45,994.80 and unpaid duties amounting to RM205,772.40.
He said investigations found that some of the contraband items were intended for sale in free trade zones or for export, while others are suspected to have been imported illegally.
He said the contraband items were believed to be for the local market in the north and that the syndicate has been active for several months.
Further investigations revealed that the owner of the house had passed away for about a year.
"We have tracked the relative of the homeowner to help in our investigation," he said, adding that the department is still looking for other suspects who might be involved in the smuggling activities.
He said the case is being investigated under Sections 135(1)(d) of the Customs Act 1967, for storing prohibited goods and Section 74(1)(e) of the Excise Act 1976.
Meanwhile, from January to June this year, Roselan said the Customs Department seized a total of RM8.6mil of various contraband items with a total unpaid taxes amounting to RM18.2mil.
