KLANG: The Royal Malaysian Customs Department Central Zone II (Selangor) seized rice, electronic waste (e-waste), cigarettes, and snuff tobacco valued at over RM10 million in several raids at West Port here and other locations across Selangor recently.
Central Zone Customs assistant director-general Norlela Ismail said 18,500 kg of rice, valued at RM169,400, was discovered during a raid on a container at West Port in July.
She said the rice, believed to be illegally shipped in from Pakistan, was falsely declared as cashew nuts and parboiled basmati rice.
“Rice is classified as a prohibited item. It requires an import permit issued by Padiberas Nasional Berhad (BERNAS) under Item 25, Part I, Third Schedule of the Customs (Prohibition of Imports) Order 2023,“ she said at a press conference today.
In a separate case, Norlela said the department foiled an attempt to smuggle 300,000 kg of e-waste worth RM1.65 million following an inspection of 13 containers at West Port in September.
She stated that an investigation uncovered the smuggling of e-waste into Malaysia from a European country, falsely declared as aluminum alloy to mislead authorities and lacking proper authorisation.
“E-waste is classified as hazardous waste. Importing it requires approval under the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal,“ Norlela explained.
She further noted that importing scheduled waste under code SW110 requires the written approval of the Department of Environment.
On yet another case, Norlela reported that Customs seized 728,972 sticks of white and Kretek cigarettes, valued at RM608,803, during raids on Oct 22, 24, and Nov 8.
The contraband was found in three unoccupied residential properties in Hulu Langat, Kajang, and Bandar Sri Damansara.
“It is believed that the cigarettes belong to multiple syndicates using the houses as storage facilities for distribution in the local market,“ she said.
Meanwhile, Norlela said that on Nov 5, Selangor Customs, in collaboration with the special investigation branch from the headquarters, seized 100 plastic bags suspected of containing snuff tobacco.
Seized during an inspection of a container at West Port, the tobacco weighed 3,000 kg and was estimated to be worth RM8.44 million.
“The container was falsely declared as ‘various mixed goods’ in Customs Form 1 in an attempt to evade detection,“ she said.
All the cases are being investigated under Section 135(1)(a) of the Customs Act 1967, while the one involving cigarettes is under Section 135(1)(d) of the same Act.
