SEREMBAN, Jan 24 — The Negeri Sembilan Customs Department seized 5.5 million sticks of white cigarettes worth an estimated RM4.16 million near the Gombak rest and service (R&R) area, Selangor on January 14.

Its director, Mohammad Hafiz Ishak said that in the 3.30pm raid, personnel from the state JKDM Enforcement Division stopped a 10-tonne bonded lorry driven by a man in his 20s.

He said an inspection of the lorry found 275,000 packets of white cigarettes, with all of them having fake tax labels and believed classified as prohibited import items under Item 1, Schedule Three/Part II of the Customs (Prohibition on Imports) Order 2023.

"All the exhibits and lorry were confiscated under Section 114 of the Customs Act 1967 and taken to the state JKDM Enforcement Division office for further investigation. The driver was also detained.

"We believe the syndicate has been active since last year and it (the cigarettes) was meant for the Klang Valley, which has a high-density population... the value of the untaxed cigarettes is RM400,000,” he told a media conference here today.

Mohammad Hafiz said the modus operandi used was to bring the cigarettes, believed to have been smuggled from Thailand, into Malaysia using vehicles such as bonded lorries.

He said the syndicate used Delivery Order documents and fake tax labels to try to dupe the authorities, adding that the cigarettes are sold in the local market at very cheap prices.

He added that the case is being investigated under Section 135(1)(e) of the Customs Act 1967 and Section 74 (1)(a) of the Excise Act 1976.

He also urged the public to cooperate by channelling any information regarding smuggling activities via the Customs Toll-Free line at 1-800-88-88 or http://aduan.customs.gov.my or the nearest Customs Office. — Bernama