Customs seize 3 million cigarette stubs at KLIA

SEREMBAN: The Negri Sembilan Customs Department seized three million stubs of "Canyon" branded cigarettes with a tax value of RM2.1 million.
State Customs director Datuk Abdullah Jaapar said the seizure was done by MAS Cargo Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) at about 6pm on Monday.
"The result of a raid on merchandise arriving from Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, found that a total of three million cigarettes were at the loading and unloading bay.
"The goods were declared as 'Console Items' (general and miscellaneous items) to evade the authorities, and the Customs Department seized all the items, as they were allegedly imported without going through the valid importation procedures," he said in a press conference here, today.
Abdullah said preliminary investigations revealed that the company where the goods were to be sent did not exist in the database of the Companies Commission of Malaysia.
"A detailed investigation will ensue to identify the mastermind involved in the smuggling," he said.
The case is being investigated under Section 135 (1) (a) of the Customs Act 1967, which can result in a fine of no less than 10 times and no more than 20 times the value of the goods, or a maximum of three years imprisonment, or both, upon conviction.
Abdullah also urged the public to report any smuggling activities involving drugs, cigarettes, liquors and firecrackers to the Customs Department immediately by calling 1-800-88-8855. — Bernama