Anti-smuggling unit cracks first case this year

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BUKIT KAYU HITAM: The Kedah Anti-Smuggling Unit (UPP) cracked its first case for the year when it detained a family of four in connection with the seizure of contraband firecrackers.The contraband, worth about RM10,000, was found hidden in the engine compartment of a pick-up truck when UPP enforcement officers conducted a check at the Bukit Kayu Hitam Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex, off the 1.3km stretch of the North-South Expressway.

UPP commander Mohd Noor Idris said yesterday that 394 packages containing the firecrackers were seized in the 11.10pm incident.

He said the 28-year-old local driver of the pick-up truck, his 23-year-old Thai wife and their two children, aged three and five, were handed over to the customs department to facilitate investigations.

In another case at the same location on Tuesday, the unit arrested a 31-year-old man from Penang, in connection with the seizure of 844 litres of petrol meant to be smuggled into Thailand.

The petrol was found hidden inside the suspect’s modified sports utility vehicle (SUV), said Mohd Noor, adding that the man was handed over to the domestic trade, cooperative and consumerism ministry for further action.

He said that earlier, the unit stopped another SUV which was registered in Thailand, and arrested the Thai driver and his local accomplice, in connection with the seizure of 3,380 pirated DVDs worth about RM33,380, at the same location.

He said the suspects, aged 22 and 30, were heading to the Bukit Kayu Hitam CIQ to enter Thailand when they were nabbed.

Last year, the UPP detained 154 people in connection with the seizure of contraband worth over RM3.5 million last year. This indicates a drop in seizures as compared to the previous year.  In 2008, contraband worth about RM11 million was confiscated, with the majority of cases involving diesel. — Bernama