The GOF men uncover the boxes, which contain the contraband cigarettes, inside the building.
BINTULU: The General Operations Force (GOF) Miri confiscated 2,412 cartons of cigarettes of various brands from an unnumbered building at Jalan Tun Hussein Onn here during an operation on Saturday afternoon.
According to GOF 12th Battalion commanding officer Supt Tan Hiap Seng, the raid under ‘Op Libas’ was conducted following the outcome of more than six hours of surveillance on the premises, which is believed to serve as the storage for contraband cigarettes.
The value of the seized items was RM578,880, including unpaid taxes and duties.
There is no tax or duties stamp on any of the cartons.
“We suspect that the building is being used as the transit point for the cigarettes before they go for distribution to the estates and other areas around Bintulu,” he said.
There was no arrest made during Op Libas.
“There was nobody at the premises during the raid,” said Tan.
He added that the seized goods would be handed over to Bintulu police for further investigation, which is being conducted under Section 135(1)(d) of Customs Act 1967.