Miri Customs Dept registers 146 arrests

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Sharifah Halimah (third right) presents a memento to a staff member who will retire soon.

MIRI: The Customs Department enforcement branch here registered 146 arrests this year as of last month.

About 80 cases involved duty-unpaid cigarettes and liquor, while three cases involved drugs – syabu, ketamine, and cannabis.

Sarawak Customs director Datuk Sharifah Halimah Tuanku Taha said there were also over 20 foreign offenders under the Custom Act 1967 from Brunei and Singapore.

She added that 15 cases have been filed in court.

Sharifah Halimah said the Miri Customs enforcement branch collected RM8 million in revenue and RM21 million in taxes.

Commenting on the Vehicle Monitoring System (VMS), she said the implementation of the pilot project at the Sungai Tujuh immigration checkpoint in Kuala Baram is running smoothly.

She said VMS would be applied at the other seven customs, immigration, and quarantine (CIQ) checkpoints in Sarawak to ensure the smooth movement of foreign vehicles in and out of Sarawak.

“VMS implementation at other CIQs in Sarawak is on-going and various efforts were done by Customs to inform foreign vehicle owners by sending flyers and also they can register online,” she said during an appreciation and gala dinner for Customs personnel here on Wednesday.

She also called on the public to cooperate by providing information on any smuggling of cigarettes, liquor, firearms, or drugs by calling 1-800-888855 (toll free).