BUTTERWORTH, March 18 — The Royal Malaysian Customs Department (JKDM) has busted three syndicates smuggling cigarettes and liquor, seizing goods worth RM3.9 million in separate raids in Bukit Mertajam recently.
Penang JKDM director Datuk Rohaizad Ali said four men were arrested in the raids at three different locations following intelligence gathered under Ops Petasan.
“In the first raid at 1.40 pm on Feb 9, a team from the Enforcement Division of Penang JKDM raided and inspected a residential premises in Kampung Sungai Lembu and found 38,200 cigarettes and 1,238.15 litres of liquor.
“All the items were located in the living room and two bedrooms, with a total value of RM97,040.
A man in his 40s, who claimed to be the owner, was arrested at the house,” he said at a press conference at the Kompleks Kastam Perai today.
In the second raid at 11.30 am on Feb 24 at a house in Taman Kekwa, officers found 182,000 cigarettes and 998.12 litres of liquor in the kitchen, stairway and rooms of the premises.
Rohaizad said a man in his 50s, also the owner of the house, was arrested in this raid, and the total value of the seizure, including duties and taxes, was estimated at RM236,572.
He said the third case recorded the largest seizure when JKDM raided a warehouse and lorry in Kampung Manggis at 11 am on Feb 26, discovering 3.34 million untaxed cigarettes stored in the warehouse and lorry, with a total value of RM3.64 million.
“We also arrested the lorry driver and his assistant, both men in their 40s, who were inside the vehicle during the operation,” he said.
Investigations revealed that all the seized cigarettes were intended for the local market, while the liquor was meant for foreigners in the country.
Rohaizad added that the three syndicates, which had no links to each other, used residential premises and warehouses as storage locations to evade authorities.
JKDM is now actively tracing the warehouse owner, and all cases are being investigated under Section 135(1)(d) of the Customs Act 1967. — Bernama
Malay Mail – Malaysia
