Two men held over nearly 20,000 sticks of smuggled cigarettes seized in Tanah Merah

TANAH MERAH: Two men, including a Pakistani, were arrested after nearly 20,000 sticks of smuggled cigarettes were seized in two separate raids yesterday.

The raids were conducted by the General Operations Force (GOF) 9th Battalion at Kampung Bukit Nangka and Kampung Paralla Dua between 4pm and 5pm following intelligence gathering.

Southeast Brigade GOF commander Datuk Ahmad Radzi Hussain said the first raid was conducted at a house in Kampung Bukit Nangka, Gual Ipoh, at 4pm.

He said officers arrested a 33-year-old local man after finding 6,080 sticks of smuggled cigarettes worth RM11,456 in a sack placed near a pile of wood in front of the house.

"The suspect claimed he obtained the cigarettes from an individual known as 'Chong' and intended to sell them around Tanah Merah," he said in a statement.

Radzi said the second raid was conducted at a shop-house in Kampung Paralla Dua at 5pm.

"An inspection of the premises uncovered a sack containing several cartons of smuggled cigarettes, totalling 13,880 sticks and worth more than RM26,000.

"We arrested a 55-year-old Pakistani man for further investigation. During questioning, he claimed the cigarettes had been supplied by two people who delivered them to the premises for sale and distribution," he said.

Both suspects were arrested under Section 135(1)(d) of the Customs Act.

Radzi said the suspects had been handed over to the Tanah Merah district police headquarters' Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation.

"The GOF will continue monitoring the border to prevent incursions and smuggling," he said.