25 tonnes of suspected Thai smuggled rice seized in Kelantan

GUA MUSANG: The General Operations Force (GOF) seized 25 tonnes of white rice suspected to have been smuggled from Thailand along Jalan Bentong-Kota Bharu near Paloh here on Tuesday night.

The seizure was made by the Southeast Brigade Commander's special team under Op Taring Wawasan after stopping a lorry at 11pm.

Southeast Brigade GOF commander Datuk Ahmad Radzi Hussain said an inspection found that the lorry was carrying white rice suspected to have been smuggled from Thailand.

"The lorry driver produced two copies of invoices to explain the source and destination of the rice consignment. However, there were doubts over the delivery location stated in the invoices.

"Following this, the 38-year-old driver was arrested, while the lorry and its 25,000kg rice cargo were seized for further action," he said in a statement.

Ahmad Radzi said the total value of the lorry and rice seized was estimated at RM550,000.

He said the modus operandi involved using suspected fake intermediary invoices to mislead the authorities during inspections and make the shipment appear to be supported by legitimate documents.

"Preliminary checks raised doubts over the delivery location stated in the invoices, as the location provided was inaccurate.

"This raised suspicions that the documents were being used to mislead the authorities about the actual source and destination of the rice consignment.

"Information obtained from the arrest will be further developed to identify the source of supply, those involved in preparing the documents, transporters, recipients and distribution network for the rice suspected to have been smuggled from Thailand," he said.

The case is being investigated under Section 20 of the Control of Padi and Rice Act 1994.