KOTA BARU: The Malaysian Border Security Agency (AKSEM) seized 8,250 cartons of smuggled cigarettes worth about RM1.1 million in unpaid tax in an operation at Jerteh, Terengganu yesterday.
Kelantan AKSEM commander Mohd Asri Yahya said no arrests were made in the 5am operation at Kampung Bahagia, near Jerteh.
He said a team from Kelantan AKSEM had spotted a lorry from Pantai Senok headed to Kuala Terengganu and decided to tail it for inspection.
However, when the lorry reached at a junction in Kampung Bahagia, the driver abandoned the machine and fled on foot into a forested area.
"Upon checking the lorry, the team found 8,250 cartons of cigarettes, believed to have been smuggled in from Thailand," he told a press conference here today.
Mohd Asri said initial investigations suggest that the smugglers had brought in the contraband by sea via Pantai Senok.
"The cigarettes, of various brands, were priced at RM4.50 for each box in the local market," he said.