KOTA KINABALU: Customs personnel seized alcoholic beverages and chicken tails worth over RM1.32mil including in unpaid taxes in a series of raids here.
The department stopped 7,010 cartons of drinks that were smuggled in for the local market while 2.8 tonnes of chicken tail were brought into Sabah without the necessary import permit by the state Department or Veterinary Services (Dovsai).
Sabah Customs assistant director-general Siti Mang said the first seizure was made when their personnel detected 2,500 cartons of illicit beer in a container at the Sepanggar port on Nov 12.
She said the next three seizures involving beer and liquor with unpaid taxes were made on Nov 20 and Dec 3.
The fourth raid, she said, saw Customs personnel seizing the chicken tails at the same port on Dec 6.
“If we look at the four cases, the modus operandi involved making false declarations (on the smuggled items),” she said, in a press conference at Sabah Customs office in Likas here on Tuesday (Dec 17).
“For instance, in one of the cases, a liquor consignment was falsely declared as household items,” Siti added.
She said further probe was being carried out under Section 135 of the Customs Act 1967.
She urged the public to cooperate with the department to weed out smuggling activities by contacting their toll-free line at 1-800-88-8855, adding informants’ identities will be kept confidential.
