KUALA SELANGOR, Dec 14 — The General Operations Force’s (PGA) Central Brigade arrested four local men and confiscated contraband cigarettes and liquor estimated to be worth RM1.45 million in three separate raids, last week.

The Department of Internal Security and Public Order deputy director (GOF) Datuk Kasuahdi Ali in a press conference today said the three raids around Selangor were carried following tip-offs from the public and intelligence gathering.

He said in the first raid at about 4pm on Wednesday, police stopped two men, aged 24 and 48, riding in a lorry along the North-South Expressway (northbound) near Selayang.

He said an inspection of the vehicle found 18,000 cans of contraband liquor of various brands estimated to be worth RM244,656.

"Police also confiscated the lorry, and the total value of the items confiscated is RM385,156. Further investigation found that the liquor is believed to have been smuggled for sale around Gombak and Kajang.

In the second raid at about 1.30am on the same highway near Kajang on Saturday, police arrested a 41-year-old man who was riding in a lorry in a suspicious manner. Further checks revealed 10,800 cans of contraband liquor estimated to be worth RM338,530 in the vehicle,” he said.

Kasuahdi said the liquor seized in the second raid was also believed to be for the Gombak and Kajang markets, and that the police were currently investigating the source of the goods as well as the connection between the two cases.

He said in the third raid at about 4.30pm on Saturday, police arrested a 38-year-old man and seized 600,000 stubs of "kretek” cigarettes hidden behind a lorry and car at a building in Jalan Kilang Padi, Tanjong Karang.

He said the contraband items believed to be smuggled for the local market were estimated to be worth RM875,000 and the two vehicles were also confiscated, taking the total value of items seized to RM942,460.

According to him, another male suspect in his 40s was arrested this morning in Tanjong Karang to assist with investigations into the smuggling of the cigarettes.

Kasuahdi said all the cases were being investigated in accordance with Section 135 (1) (D) of the Customs Act 1967. — Bernama