Matrang greeting his enforcement team.
The launching ceremony at Bintulu Esplanade was officiated by its deputy director-general (Enforcement & Compliance) Datuk Matrang Suhaili.
“Ops Pacak is a targeted operation that will concentrate on ‘hot spots’ identified with high illegal cigarette activities. For Sarawak, we chose Bintulu.
“These hot spots will be raided and then closely monitored by Customs officers for a month. They will run surveillance and conduct walkabouts at the nearby retail outlets throughout the whole month.”
He added that `Ops Pacak’ was a special operation after the success of `Ops Outlet’ – an operation against smuggling, distribution, and sale of illegal cigarettes and other critical commodities, especially alcohol.
Matrang said stricter actions would be taken against offenders, including prosecuting them.
Before yesterday’s launch, two outlets here – at Kampung Masjid and Taman Putrajaya – were raided on Nov 26, and two retailers were arrested.
Over 20 cartons of contraband cigarettes were confiscated, and the illegal brands seized include Era, Gudang Garam, Vess, Parkway, and LA Kretek.
From January till Nov 26 this year, the state Customs Department confiscated cigarettes valued at RM609,709.23, equivalent to RM5,381,518.58 in unpaid taxes, making illegal cigarettes the most confiscated commodity.