CUSTOMS FOILS ATTEMPTS TO SMUGGLE WHITE CIGARETTES WORTH RM527,124 THROUGHOUT APRIL

PUTRAJAYA, May 7 (Bernama) -- The Customs Department has foiled 15 attempts to smuggle out 786,800 sticks of white cigarettes of various brands, worth RM527,124 at the Free Commercial Zone (FCZ) of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA),  throughout last month.

Customs Central Zone assistant director-general, Norlela Ismail, said that one of the smuggling tactics was to place the cigarettes in boxes or packages and provide false information about the trade description.

“The syndicate also declared an incorrect name and address of the sender to make detection difficult. The results of the inspection of the cigarettes found that they were not affixed with a tax stamp, and did not have a health warning issued by the Malaysian government,” she said in a statement today.

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Norlela said that the case was investigated under Section 135(1)(e) of the Customs Act 1967.

She added that, on April 25, the department foiled an attempt to smuggle in Beedi cigarettes weighing 823 kilogrammes (kg) from South Asian countries, estimated to be worth RM135,552, including unpaid duties.

She said that the tactic used was to pass off the cigarette packets as electronic game consoles, to avoid detection.

“The flight document with the name of the importer was also fake. After the merchandise was seized, none of the parties, either agents or importers, came forward to claim the merchandise and submit the importation documents,” she said, adding that the case was being investigated under Regulation 30(1) of the Free Zone Regulations 1991, which is importing prohibited goods into the free zone without a permit.

Meanwhile, the department succeeded in thwarting an attempt to smuggle in 85 kg of chewing tobacco, estimated to be worth RM8,111, with the arrest of two foreign men, who had just arrived in the country on April 22.

The two individuals, from South Asia, were detained with some luggage containing chewing tobacco, weighing 85kg, estimated to produce a valid permit for the importation,” she said.

According to Norlela, the case items were seized for further investigation, while the inspection found that the two men had flight tickets back to their country of origin on April 23.

“The inspection of the luggage found few clothes, proving that they did not intend to stay in the country for a long time. A check of their passports found that they often entered Malaysia for short periods,” she said, adding that the case was being investigated under Section 135(1)(a) of the Customs Act 1967.

-- BERNAMA