BUKIT KAYU HITAM: The Customs Department seized RM300,000 of undeclared cash which was not approved by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to be brought into the country through the Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security Complex here on May 5.
Kedah Customs Director Datuk Johari Alifiah said the cash was seized following an inspection on a van bearing a Thailand registration number at 10.45am.
He said the inspection on the van found RM100,000 cash hidden under the dashboard of the vehicle.
"We detained and inspected a van driven by a 43-year-old Thai man and carrying a 63-year-old local man at the vehicle inspection lane and found RM100,000 in cash.
"The van was then impounded and parked at the Block C parking area pending a thorough inspection," he told reporters here today.
Johari said at about 3.30pm on the same day, a 49-year-old Thai man was caught red-handed trying to break into the van which then led the department to find another RM200,000 in a grey-coloured sling bag hidden in a compartment above the passenger seats.
He said all the suspects were detained under Section 135 (1)(a) of the Customs Act 1967.
In an unrelated case, Johari said the department seized various brands of cigarettes that were not cleared by the Customs worth RM693,000 in a raid on a premises in Sungai Puyu, Butterworth, Penang on May 24. — BERNAMA