GEORGE TOWN: The Penang Region One Marine Police Force (PPM) seized 2.7 million contraband cigarettes of various brands worth RM2.046 million, including unpaid taxes, in a raid on a warehouse in Jalan Changkat, Nibong Tebal, near here, on June 15.
Its acting commander, Supt Shoppri Saad, said that the team, acting on information and surveillance, raided the premises at 7.30pm in an operation dubbed Op Kontraban but no arrests were made.
“On the way to the location, the PPM team realised that they were being tailed by several vehicles suspected to be tonto (thugs). There was a car in the warehouse but, upon realising the team’s presence, the driver sped off.
“Police searched the warehouse and found 280 boxes containing 2.7 million sticks of white and kretek (clove) cigarettes with unpaid tax. All the cigarettes were for the northern region market,” he said in a statement today.
He said police are not ruling out the possibility that the cigarettes were smuggled from neighbouring countries, but further investigations are ongoing to trace the syndicate involved.
The case is being investigated under Section 135 (1) (d) of the Customs Act 1967. — Bernama
