Penang JKDM foils RM9.9 million cigarette smuggling attempt at Port Klang, seizing 9.08 million sticks hidden in furniture boxes from Vietnam.
BUTTERWORTH: The Penang branch of the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (JKDM) has thwarted a major cigarette smuggling attempt valued at RM9.9 million.
Its director, Datuk Rohaizad Ali, said the operation involved detaining a container at Port Klang, Selangor, on Dec 24 last year.
The container, arriving from Vietnam, was seized by an Enforcement Division team at 10.40 am.
An inspection of the 930 boxes labelled ‘Furniture’ revealed 908 boxes contained 9.08 million white cigarettes.
The remaining 22 boxes contained actual furniture.
Rohaizad said the syndicate’s modus operandi involved making false declarations by hiding the cigarettes within boxes supposedly containing furniture.
He believes all the seized cigarettes were intended for the local market.
The importation of cigarettes is permitted subject to an import permit in accordance with regulations.
