MUAR, April 17 — Police arrested a local man and seized 1.2 million sticks of white and clove cigarettes worth RM1.24 million and believed to have been smuggled, during a raid at a house in Jalan Naib Kadir, Bukit Pasir, here on Friday (April 14).
Muar district police chief ACP Raiz Mukhliz Azman Aziz said acting on intelligence and surveillance carried out by the Simpang Renggam General Operations Force (GOF) 5th Battalion and the Muar district police headquarters (IPD) for four weeks, a 54-year-old man was arrested at 2.30pm.
He said following the raid, police seized 118 large packages of various brands of cigarettes comprising 4,000 cartons, a Proton Wira car, two mobile phones and RM1,699 cash.
"At the time of the raid, the man was arranging the cigarettes in the house that he had rented and it is believed the cigarettes were to be marketed around the area. The duty and tax not paid cigarettes seized on Friday, is the biggest seizure for the year.
“The modus operandi is to use a rented house as a collection centre before the cigarettes are distributed to customers who we believe are foreign workers and also locals,” Raiz Mukhliz told reporters at the Muar IPD, earlier today.
He said preliminary investigations revealed that the man did not have a permanent job and began to engage in the sale of contraband cigarettes last year and had no previous records related to crime or drugs.
“We are carrying out investigations related to other individuals who may be involved in the case,” Raiz Mukhliz said, adding that the man would be remanded for seven days beginning Saturday and the case investigated under Section 135(1)(d) of the Customs Act 1967.
— Bernama
