KOTA BHARU — Police have crippled a cigarette smuggling operation following the seizure of untaxed cigarettes worth about RM2.6 million in two separate raids in Kuala Krai and Tanah Merah, Kelantan, earlier this week.
Kelantan police chief Mohd Yusoff Mamat said the first operation was carried out at about 9.30 am on March 10 when a task force detained a lorry along Jalan Kuala Krai–Gua Musang.
Upon inspecting the lorry’s cargo area, police discovered boxes wrapped in sacks believed to contain untaxed cigarettes of various brands. Authorities seized 300 boxes containing about 3.05 million cigarettes with an estimated value of RM2,688,432.
The lorry driver, a man in his 50s, was detained to assist in investigations.
In a separate raid later the same day at around 2 pm in Tanah Merah, a team from the Criminal Investigation Department’s Special Investigation Branch (D9) raided a house and arrested another suspect.
Police discovered two boxes of untaxed U2-brand cigarettes in a store behind the house, along with two mobile phones and SIM cards, bringing the value of the second seizure to about RM7,000.
Mohd Yusoff said the seized items will be sent to the Department of Chemistry Malaysia for analysis. The cases are being investigated under Section 135(1)(e) and Section 135(1)(d) of the Customs Act 1967 for possessing, handling and storing untaxed goods.
— BERNAMA
