JOHOR BARU: The state Royal Customs Department have disposed of 53 tonnes of contraband cigarettes valued at about RM4.14 million ($1.3m) that were seized so far this year.
Malaysia’s Johor Customs Director Datuk Ramli Johari said the seized contraband cigarettes, comprising 58.7 million sticks of kretek and white cigarettes, involved unpaid taxes totalling RM28.1 million.
“The cigarettes were disposed of by using the shredding method and were done with the cooperation of the Confederation of Malaysian Tobacco Manufacturers (CMTM), who have set aside funds for the disposal works,” said Ramli.
He said the department will continue to collaborate with CMTM to eradicate the smuggling, distribution and selling of contraband cigarettes as this have caused the government to lose out on the revenue from the unpaid taxes.
In another development, Ramli also said that the department have also destroyed 32,663 litres of illegal alcoholic beverages worth RM133,700 that were seized so far this year, which involved RM980,345 in unpaid taxes.
