Customs in Sarikei seized over 6.7 million cigarette sticks and 89,000 litres of liquor in a raid, with evaded duties and taxes estimated at RM6.1 million.
SARIKEI: The Sarikei branch of the Customs Department seized undeclared cigarettes and liquor worth RM7.29 million in a raid last month.
Director of Sarawak Customs Datuk Norizan Yahya said the seizure involved 6,766,400 sticks of cigarettes and 89,416.80 litres of various liquor brands.
The goods were suspected to have been stored without customs approval at a house in Lorong Rantau Panjang Jaya 3H.
The raid was conducted at about 9.15 pm on Dec 19 based on intelligence from headquarters.
Inspections uncovered goods suspected to be undeclared and prohibited under the Customs (Prohibition of Imports) Order 2023.
The estimated value of the seized items is RM1,209,043.20.
The total import duty and tax evaded is estimated at RM6,079,411.85.
Norizan said the case is still under investigation.
The modus operandi is believed to involve storing undeclared goods at residential premises to evade detection.
The case is being investigated under Section 135(1)(d) of the Customs Act 1967.
