ISKANDAR PUTERI, June 29 – The Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Service Department (Maqis) foiled an attempt to smuggle in 10 tonnes of rice worth RM50,000 from Singapore yesterday at the Sultan Abu Bakar Complex (KSAB) at the Second Link crossing in Gelang Patah here.
It said the attempt was discovered during an inspection on a lorry that the delivery agent claimed was bringing in animal feed, at 12.30pm yesterday.
“As a result of the inspection, Maqis Johor enforcement officers found 10 large sacks in the lorry that contained rice.
“Further checks revealed that each sack contained about a tonne of undeclared rice that did not have the relevant import documentation,” it said in a statement today.
Maqis Johor added that the seized rice was estimated to be worth RM50,000.
It said the 32-year-old driver had been detained to assist in investigations, but was released after questioning.
It was previously reported that Maqis also foiled an attempt to smuggle in 18 tonnes of rice from Singapore on a lorry at the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) cargo import area in Johor Baru last week.
In Malaysia, the importation of rice is highly regulated and an import permit is needed as they fall under the act of importing any type of agricultural produce.
The import permit, issued by the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry, is also to assure Maqis that the necessary bio-security measures have been undertaken for the import.
