Police arrest a local man and seize RM6.19 million in frozen pork products without valid permits during a raid in Miri, Sarawak.
KUALA LUMPUR: Police arrested a local man and seized RM6.19 million worth of frozen pork products suspected of being imported without valid permits during an operation, codenamed Op Taring Chiller, at a warehouse in Miri, Sarawak, last night.
Internal Security and Public Order Department (JKDNKA) director Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri said the suspect, a 26-year-old local man, was arrested during the operation at 8 pm.
“The operation is part of the police’s ongoing commitment to strengthen enforcement against the storage of frozen food of unknown halal status and the distribution of illegal food products,” he said in a statement today.
He said inspections at the premises uncovered, among others, 30,000 kilogrammes (kg) of cooked frozen pork large intestines, 18,000kg of pork loin packed in 15 pallets, 750kg of pork in one pallet, several pallets of bone-in pork bellies with rind on and frozen pork shoulder.
“The raid was carried out by the Wildlife Crime Bureau/Special Investigation Intelligence (WCB/PSK), with the assistance of the Miri district police headquarters and the Miri Division of the Sarawak Veterinary Services Department,” he said.
Mohd Yusri said the case is being investigated under Sections 9(1) and 9(3) of the Veterinary Public Health Ordinance 1999, while a RM25,000 compound notice has also been issued under the same ordinance.
Meanwhile, he said WCB/PSK of the JKDNKA carried out 201 raids nationwide between Jan 1 and July 10, resulting in the arrest of 375 individuals.
He said the operations involved various offences, including the smuggling of non-duty-paid goods, leakage of controlled and subsidised goods, frozen food, wildlife smuggling and e-waste, with total seizures estimated at RM264.86 million.
“The Royal Malaysia Police will continue to intensify intelligence gathering, monitoring and integrated enforcement operations to combat smuggling activities and organised crime more effectively,” he added.
