Smuggling bid contained: Anis Rizana (left) showing one of the six imported vehicles confiscated by Selangor Customs. — Bernama
PORT KLANG: The Royal Malaysian Customs Department seized luxury vehicles, alcoholic beverages, scrap metal, e-waste and other commodities worth RM30.4mil in raids at Port Klang between August and early this month.
Director-general Datuk Anis Rizana Mohd Zainudin said Selangor Customs seized six imported luxury vehicles worth RM794,000 on Aug 22. The vehicles were found in five containers at West and North Ports.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the vehicles, believed to have originated from East Asia, arrived on July 17 without the required import permits from the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti).
“The importation of vehicles is subject to import permits issued by Miti, as outlined in Item 3(2), Part 1, Second Schedule, Customs Order (Prohibition of Imports) 2023,” she said during a press conference yesterday, reported Bernama.
On alcoholic beverages, Anis Rizana said an inspection of five containers at North and West Ports on Sept 26 led to the seizure of 79,104 litres of alcohol worth RM3.11mil. The alcohol, believed to have been imported from East Asia, was falsely declared as truck steel rims and photo albums.
The department also seized approximately 1,098 tonnes of scrap metal valued at RM13.2mil after confiscating 44 containers originating from a country in the Americas at West Port on Sept 5.
Anis Rizana explained that the importation of scrap metal is subject to import permits issued by the Malaysian Standards and Industrial Research Institute (Sirim), as stipulated in Item 5, Part 1, Fourth Schedule, Customs Order (Prohibition of Imports) 2023.
“The scrap metal was falsely declared as aluminium alloy, aluminium flakes and copper flakes to avoid the requirement for import permits,” she said.
She added that through Ops E-Waste, the department, in collaboration with the Department of Environment, prevented a revenue loss of RM558,579 by seizing approximately 2,119 tonnes of e-waste worth RM5.59mil at West Port. The e-waste, which lacked the necessary approval for entry into the country for processing, was discovered in 107 containers during operations conducted from Aug 17 to Oct 4.
Selangor Customs also thwarted attempts to smuggle undenatured ethyl alcohol (96%), white cigarettes, kretek cigarettes and alcoholic beverages with a combined value of approximately RM7.15mil.
