PORT KLANG: Royal Malaysian Customs is expected to recruit 2,500 new officers and staff throughout the country this year to beef its operations in controlling smuggling activities said its director-general Datuk Seri Ibrahim Jaapar.
ATTEMPTED SMUGGLING: Ibrahim (second left) together with Bukit Aman deputy director Datuk Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani (left), Selangor Customs director Datuk Roslan Yusof Datuk Roslan Yusof (right) and his deputy, Che Omar Che Lim inspect a 4x4 vehicle seized by authorities. — Bernama photo
He said the new officers would be placed at various departments, especially audit, accounts and enforcement.
Additional manpower would be sent to states where there was a high risk of smuggling activities like Johor, Penang, Selangor, Sabah, Sarawak, Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and all border entry points, he said.
“There are 12,000 officers and staff throughout the country but to enhance enforcement and curb smuggling activities, the Public Services Department has approved our appeal for an additional 2,500 officers and staff. About 1,000 of them have already reported for duty,” he told reporters at the North Port Customs Complex here yesterday.
Ibrahim added that cigarettes, clove cigarettes, alcohol, cars, fireworks and drugs were among some of the main products frequently seized by the customs.
He added that the Customs succeeded in handling 4,333 smuggling cases last year compared with 4,052 cases in 2008. —Bernama