GEORGE TOWN: Police crippled an illicit cigarette syndicate with the seizure of 1,908,000 sticks of cigarettes worth RM764,000 during two raids at two warehouses in the Seberang Prai Tengah district on Monday.
Police, during the operations under Op Kontraban, also detained four men, aged between 40 and 55, who were caretakers and lorry drivers, to assist in investigation into the case.
All four of the suspects are from Selangor.
Police also seized five vehicles — a Toyota Altis, a Mercedez Benz, a Ford Fiesta, a Nissan Cefiro and a Hino motor lorry — worth RM236,000 in the raids.
State police chief Datuk Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said the syndicate was believed to have obtained its supplies from the Klang Valley before taking them to the warehouses in Penang using the seized lorry to be distributed in Seberang Prai.
"Based on the syndicate's modus operandi, the lorry picks up the cigarettes from the Klang Valley before ferrying them to Penang.
"Upon arrival here, the lorry will park 300m to 500m from the warehouses. The caretakers will then transfer them to the warehouses to be kept there before being distributed.
"Further investigation revealed that the syndicate's shipment from the Klang Valley to Penang is done twice a month," he said at a press conference at the state police contingent headquarters here today.
Shuhaily said police first raided the warehouse in the Permatang Tinggi light industrial area, where the four men were nabbed.
He said this led to the second raid at the warehouse in the Bukit Tengah IKS area.
"The cigarettes, seized from both warehouses, were kept in 198 big boxes inside 9,900 cartons, containing 1,908,000 sticks. The overall taxes amounted to RM1,322,640.
"The syndicate is believed to have been active for the past one year," he added.
All four of the suspects have been detained for 14 days under Section 116C of the Customs Act 1967 from Tuesday until Oct 11.
The case is being investigated under Section 135(1)(d) of the Customs Act 1967 for the possession or selling of smuggled cigarettes.
Shuhaily said between January and September this year, police conducted 61 raids and detained 75 people who were believed to be involved in illicit cigarette trafficking.
The total seizure of untaxed cigarettes amounted to RM3,037,800.