KOTA BHARU: The Southeast Brigade of the General Operations Force (GOF) thwarted an attempt to smuggle ornamental plants worth RM125,000 at a roadblock mounted at Lalang Pepuyu, near Tanah Merah today.
Its Commander Datuk Nik Ros Azhan Nik Ab Hamid said the seizure was made after personnel from the GOF 9th Battalion stopped a lorry while on ‘Op Taring Wawasan’ duty at around 5 am.
“Upon inspection, various Bromeliad saplings, believed to have been smuggled from Thailand, were found inside the lorry driven by a 25-year-old man suspected to be a courier smuggling the plants into the local market,” he said in a statement today.
He said the case is being investigated under Section 5 of the Plant Quarantine Act 1976 (Act 167).
The suspect and seized items have been handed over to the GOF Command Base at Taman Bakti and the Kota Bharu Agriculture Department for further action, he added.
