KUALA LUMPUR: The Royal Malaysian customs department at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) raided three stores and thwarted an attempt to smuggle 20.4 tonnes of firecrackers and fireworks in Selangor last Wednesday.
The KLIA Enforcement Division and the Customs Operational Battle Force Response Assault (Cobra) tactical unit struck the stores located at Batu Arang in Rawang and seized the consignment valued at RM825,714, which included unpaid taxes.
Enforcement Division assistant director-general, Datuk Azimah Abd Hamid said a team from the division and Cobra conducted the raid following following a tip off received in conjunction with an operation dubbed “Ops Krismas”.
“The firecrackers and fireworks are believed to have been smuggled from China for the Klang Valley market in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebration in February.
“The team also seized 1,225 litres of liquor from various countries estimated at RM17,133.60, with unpaid taxes of RM70,697.05,” she told a press conference here today.
Azimah said a 25-year-old Bangladeshi man was detained to facilitate investigations under Section 135(1)(d) of the Customs Act 1967.
In KOTA BARU, the Malaysian Border Security Agency (Aksem) confiscated 5,000kg of firecrackers and fireworks valued at RM180,000 in a raid at an oil palm plantation in Jeram Pasu, Pasir Puteh yesterday.
Its state commander, Mohd Asri Yahya said two teams from the agency raided the area at 7.30pm before they stumbled on an abandoned lorry. “Checks on the vehicle led to the seizure of 180 boxes containing the firecrackers and fireworks which were believed to have been smuggled from a neighbouring country for distribution in the Klang Valley in conjunction with the Chinese New Year,” he told a press conference today.
