Contraband smokes seized by marine cops

JOHOR BARU: The southern region marine police crippled a cigarette smuggling attempt with the seizure of contraband cigarettes worth RM143,851, in a raid near Jetty Nelayan Sungai Sanglang, Benut, today.
Region Two marine police force commander ACP Paul Khiu Khon Chiang said 10 marine policemen conducted a raid near the jetty and found four suspects loading boxes of cigarettes into a parked MPV about 1.50am.
He added the four suspects, believed to be locals, fled when they realised police were approaching them.
“This is a new location that has been detected for smuggling activities so far,” he said, adding they seized the MPV, worth RM80,000, and a 200-horsepower fibre boat worth RM90,000.
He said the contraband cigarettes, with the brand name “Gudang Garam”, “Semporna A Merah” and “Marboro”, are believed to be from a neighbouring country.
Khiu said so far this year, marine police has crippled 53 cigarette smuggling attempts with the seizure of contraband cigarettes worth RM3.9 million.