ALOR SETAR: The Royal Malaysian Customs Department seized 5,476 bottles of numerous brands of liquor with suspected counterfeit duty stamps, valued at RM447,150 including duties, during a raid on a Bukit Mertajam premises in Penang, earlier this month.
Kedah Customs director Nor Izah Abd Latiff said that acting on intelligence and public tip-offs the Alor Setar Customs Enforcement branch also arrested a foreign worker in his 40s during the raid.
“The syndicate’s modus operandi involved affixing counterfeit duty stamps that closely resemble genuine ones on the liquor bottles, aiming to mislead the public, particularly consumers, into believing that the required duties have been paid.
“These fake duty stamps may have been produced using modern printing technology,“ she said in a statement today.
She added that the foreign national was an employee at the premises and further investigations are underway to track down the owner.
Meanwhile, in a separate operation, Nor Izah reported that a team of officers from the Bukit Kayu Hitam Customs seized a variety of untaxed liquor and cigarettes worth an estimated RM1.4 million, including duties, during a raid on a premises in Selangor, on Aug 29.
She said the premises, which was found unlocked and unoccupied, is suspected of being used as a storage facility for untaxed goods, for distribution to the local market.
“A total of 7,000 litres of liquor and 1,000,000 sticks of cigarettes were confiscated, with an estimated value of RM353,284, involving duty losses of approximately RM1.048 million,“ she added.
Both cases are being investigated under Section 135(1)(d) of the Customs Act 1967.
Nor Izah also noted that between January and August this year, the Kedah Customs Department recorded 215 cases involving various commodities, including untaxed cigarettes and liquor, with a total value of RM22.81 million.
