GOF-MACC raid hauls in 2,460 cartons of cigarettes

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Sanudin (centre) and others show the cigarettes seized from the raided premises.

SIBU: A total of 2,460 cartons of cigarettes, believed to be smuggled items, were confiscated from an empty house at Mile 5 of Ngu Hock Lane at Tunku Abdul Rahman Road here during a raid late Thursday.

The haul is estimated to be worth about RM492,000 including the amount of uncollected taxes, according to General Operations Force (GOF) 10th Battalion commanding officer Supt Sanudin Mohd Isa.

He also said no arrest was made during the raid, and nobody had come to claim the items.

“The team waited for almost two hours, but the owner (of the premises) did not show up.

“As such, the raid leader ordered the team to go in where they later found out the cigarettes, suspected to be smuggled items,” he said during a press conference here yesterday, suspecting that the cigarettes might have been brought in from Vietnam and were stored in the empty house prior to distribution in Sibu.

The operation also engaged officers from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

The team was jointly led by GOF’s Insp Mohd Salman Zulfitri Sheekandar and MACC senior enforcement officer Nursolehan Mohamad Arshad.

The raid and seizure were conducted under the Custom Act 1967. All seized items would be sent to the Criminal Investigation Department of Sibu police headquarters for further investigation.