Customs seizes RM2.5 mln contraband fags in S’kan

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The contraband cigarettes that were found in a storeroom at an unoccupied house in Kampung Pisang, Sandakan.

The controlled items that were seized by enforcement team in Tawau.

KOTA KINABALU: Contraband cigarettes valued at around RM2.5 million were seized during several operations, dubbed Ops Merdeka, by the Royal Malaysian Customs (RMC) in Sandakan recently.

Sabah Customs deputy director of enforcement and compliance, Hamzah Sundang, said the continuous operations which began on September 7 until September 14, saw 49 people being detained for further investigations on suspicion of their involvement in storing, possessing and selling the contraband items.

Hamzah said the biggest operation was made at Kampung Pisang, Sandakan on September 12 with the seizure of some RM2 million worth of contraband cigarettes.

“The raid was carried out at around 7.30am by 25 enforcement officers and personnel after receiving a tip-off. During the operation, we raided several houses that were believed to have been used as storage area and managed to uncover about 47,210 packets of cigarettes worth RM2 million,” he said yesterday.

Hamzah said, initial investigation revealed that all the cigarettes were stored in unoccupied houses to avoid being detected by enforcement personnel. The cigarettes would then be distributed around Sandakan for sale to the public, he said.

The seized items that were confiscated would be investigated under the Customs Act 1967.

Meanwhile, in a similar operation, Hamzah said enforcement team also seized various controlled items worth about RM10,506, that they believed were intended to be smuggled to a neighboring country, near a water village at Sungai Nyamuk in Tawau.

He said the operation was conducted on Sunday at around 11am during a patrol by Customs enforcement personnel.

“During the patrol operation, our enforcement team spotted a suspicious looking boat and upon inspection, found numerous controlled items such as cooking oil, sugar, eggs, petrol and alcoholic drinks,” he said, adding that a 51-year-old man had been detained to facilitate investigation.