BUTTERWORTH: The Royal Malaysian Customs Department uncovered a smuggling syndicate’s tactic of using an industrial warehouse as a storage facility for illicit liquor upon raiding the premises in Bukit Tengah on Sept 1.
State Customs director Roselan Ramli said intelligence gathering and surveillance led to the 9:30 am raid by a team from the intelligence Branch and Operations Unit of the Penang Enforcement Division.
He said two individuals transferring a large quantity of beer and liquor into a van and lorry parked near the warehouse were nabbed while they attempted to flee the scene.
“An inspection revealed 27,904 cans of beer and 3,441 bottles of liquor, suspected to be untaxed, inside the warehouse and both vehicles. The goods were valued at RM158,621.10, with duties amounting to RM438,884.37.
“Investigations found the syndicate’s modus operandi involved storing untaxed alcohol in remote warehouses, and relocating periodically to avoid detection,“ he said during a press conference at the Bagan Jermal Enforcement Storage Facility today.
Roselan stated that the premises had only been rented about a month ago, and efforts are underway to track down the syndicate leaders and the warehouse owner.
The detained individuals, aged 28 and 57, both locals, have been released on Customs bail, he added.
In a separate case, Roselan reported that two containers were detained at Westport, Port Klang, Selangor, on Sept 11, with a cargo of 103,200 cans of beer valued at RM438,600, with customs duties amounting to RM2.013 million.
“The syndicate falsely declared the cargo as ‘Truck Steel Rims’. Preliminary investigations suggest the shipment originated from China and was handled by a shipping company with a branch at Port Klang. It was imported by a private company based in Kuala Lumpur,“ he said.
The containers have been transported to the Penang Customs Prevention Complex, and both cases are being investigated under Section 135(1)(a) of the Customs Act 1967 and Section 74(1)(e) of the Excise Act 1976.
