KUCHING, April 22 (Bernama) -- The Royal Malaysian Customs Department (JKDM) in Sarawak busted a contraband stash of untaxed cigarettes and hard liquor worth more than RM566,000 during an operation in Miri on Wednesday (April 16).
Sarawak Customs director Norizan Yahya said that in the 8.30 am operation, a team of Customs officers from the Land Operations Unit conducted a raid on a container in the Eastwood Valley Industrial Estate area.
"An inspection of the locked container uncovered 700,000 sticks of various brands of white cigarettes without tax stamps, along with 1,536 litres of alcoholic beverages suspected to be contraband," he said.
"The estimated value of the seized items is RM74,372, while the total duties and taxes involved is RM492,319.20. The overall estimated value of the confiscated goods, including duties and taxes, amounts to RM566,691.20," he said in a statement today.
Norizan added that the syndicate's modus operandi involved using the container as a storage space for cigarettes and alcoholic beverages to evade detection by the authorities.
He said the case is being investigated under Section 135(1)(d) of the Customs Act 1967. If found guilty, the offenders could face a fine of up to RM500,000, imprisonment for up to five years, or both.
-- BERNAMA
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