KOTA KINABALU: The new Collaborated Border Management (CBM) approach by the Customs Department has foiled another attempt to smuggle in goods at Sepanggar Port, near here. This time around, some RM42.38 million worth of falsely declared items were found in 62 containers.
Earlier this month, some RM6 million worth of falsely declared items were found in 32 containers at the same port. The seizure followed a three-week raid conducted under the new approach enforced by the Department.
The modus operandi used in the cases involved making false declaration on the items which require an import licence, while the alcohol beverages and rice which also need an import licence were declared as household goods, machinery and hardware, among others.
Customs Assistant Director-General (Enforcement) Dato Paddy Abd Halim said the latest seizure is the biggest recorded by the State Customs Department since the new approach was enforced this month.
Customs officers seized 49 containers laden with 853,776 litres of alcohol beverages and one container filled with 11 million sticks of cigarettes from Singapore and Vietnam, 11 containers with 11,000 units of tyres from China and one container with 500 bags of rice.
“The seizures were made in stages over a period of one to three days after Hari Raya Aidiladha,” he told a media conference, Monday.
“Investigations are still being done but we believe this could be the work of syndicates, we are also looking into the relation between the previous seizure and this latest seizure,” he said.
He said investigation is also being done to see if the goods are meant for the local market or if Sabah is just a transit point.
“This seizure has proven the effectiveness of the CBM approach and we have started to enforce this approach in all entry points through stages throughout the country,” he said.
Also present were State Customs Department Deputy Director (Technical Services) Norizam Zakaria, State Customs Deputy Director (Customs) Mohd Idris Shaharom and State Customs Senior Assistant Director (Enforcement)Julaiman Soimin.
The Customs Department has strengthened its control at entry points including ports and this is done in collaboration with other security enforcement agencies with Customs taking the lead under its CBM approach.
