PONTIAN: Marine police today foiled an attempt to smuggle contraband cigarettes worth more than RM180,000, inclusive of import and excise duties in Benut waters at 3am today.
Marine Police Region 2 commander, Assistant Commissioner Paul Khiu said a team of personnel spotted a fiberglass boat moving in a suspicious manner. Khiu said when the men on the boat spotted the marine police approaching them, they tried to flee.
He said during a 15-minute chase, several boxes believed to contain contraband cigarettes were thrown off the boat. The men on the boat reached a mangrove forest and they were seen fleeing into the forest after abandoning the boat. Khiu said marine police seized 19,200 packets of cigarettes of various brands, a fiberglass boat, and a Yamaha 200-horsepower engine in the raid.
“The cigarettes are estimated to be worth RM31,304 with import duties of RM63,840, excise duties of RM76,484.80 and sales tax of RM8,581.44,” he said in a statement.
The boat is worth RM15,000 while the engine is worth RM30,000. Khiu said there was an increase in cigarette smuggling with 55 cases in marine police Region 2 this year, as compared to 18 cases that occurred in the southern region last year.
