Datuk Mohammad Hamiddan Maryani ( second right) with his officials shows some of the seized smuggled cigarettes in a lorry container at the Tanjung Pelepas Port and the Sultan Abu Bakar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex in Iskandar Puteri in Johor. —Bernama photo
ISKANDAR PUTERI: The Johor Customs Department has thwarted attempts to smuggle contraband cigarettes valued at RM12.49 million including tax at the Tanjung Pelepas Port and the Sultan Abu Bakar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex on Dec 15 and on Monday.
Its director Datuk Mohammad Hamiddan Maryani said on Dec 15, the department seized a container from a Chinese vessel at Tanjung Pelepas Port at about 10am and found 1,030 boxes containing 10.3 million cigarette sticks.
“The vessel declared that it was ferrying furniture cargo to Senai, however, upon inspection, we found a 40-foot container filled with white cigarettes of U2 brand,” he told reporters here yesterday.
He said all cigarettes worth RM4.12 million and a tax of RM7.21 million, believed to be marketed in the country.
The department also detained a 44-year-old local man to assist the investigation into the case.
Meanwhile, a lorry was detained at the Sultan Abu Bakar CIQ Complex’s inspection bay for export at 7am yesterday, and the department seized 300 boxes containing white and ‘kretek’ (clove) cigarettes.
He said the 300 boxes contained a total of 2.38 million cigarette sticks (1.68 million sticks of white cigarette worth RM924,000 and 700,000 ‘kretek’ cigarette sticks worth RM238,200).
He said it was believed that the cigarettes, worth RM1.162 million, were to be smuggled into Singapore to marketed in the republic.
The 68-year-old local man, believed to be the truck driver, was also detained for further investigation, he said, adding that both cases were being investigated under Section (1) (g) of the Customs Act 1967. – Bernama