Contraband cigarettes seized

BUTTERWORTH: The Customs Department detained a shopkeeper in his 40s for possession of illegal cigarettes in an operation today.
The man was detained after the raiding party found boxes of the contraband cigarettes kept underneath a table at the shop in Bagan Ajam here.
The boxes were wrapped in a black-coloured plastic rubbish bag and stored under the table to avoid detection.
Upon opening the boxes, the raiding team found various brands of cigarettes.
Several boxes of the contraband were also found under stacks of newspapers in front of the shop as well as underneath the counter.
Until Aug 12, the department has raided 4,317 outlets nationwide under Ops Outlet to weed out illegal cigarettes which costs the government millions in revenue.
A total of 1,444 outlets raided were found to have illegal cigarettes and 952 retailers were detained with 455 charged in court.
The authorities have so far seized 190 million illegal sticks.