IPOH: Perak Customs Department has discovered smuggled cigarettes and kretek worth RM2.1 million, in a series of two raids in Manjung.
Its director, Datuk Abdul Ghafar Mohamad said that the department raided two unoccupied houses that were used as storage in Sitiawan and Pantai Remis on Thursday.
He said for the first raid, a team of officers from the Lumut Enforcement Branch raided a house in a gated residential area at about 1.30am.
"Further checks in the unoccupied house, they found 2.57 million of untaxed cigarettes and various brands of kretek estimated to be worth RM2.03 million," he said.
Abdul Ghafar said this in a press conference at the department's Enforcement and Compliance Complex in Taman Meru here today.
For the second raid, Abdul Ghaffar said that it was conducted at an abandoned house in Pantai Remis at about 10.15am.
"Further searches inside the premises revealed 127,200 white and kretek cigarettes of various brands worth RM100,907.40 in the living room," he said.
Both cases are being investigated under Section 135(1)(d) of the Customs Act 1967 for possession or selling of smuggled cigarettes.
He added that the department was intensifying efforts to locate the owner of the two premises for further investigation.
"House owners are advised to be extra cautious in determining the identity of their tenants," he added.
Abdul Ghafar added that initial investigation found that all the cigarettes were believed to be smuggled from Indonesia and Vietnam, to be distributed on the Perak market.
In the same development, a total of 424 cases were successfully obtained, estimated to be worth more than RM11.6 million between January and this month.
"We confiscated more than 6.6 million white cigarettes and kretek, 21,460 litres of liquor, 40 vehicles, 101.97g of drugs and 15 bottles of cannabis water," he said.