JOHOR BARU: The Customs department seized 105,342 bottles of illicit wine stored inside a warehouse at the Port of Tanjung Pelepas Free Zone.
The contraband goods are believed to have been imported from a China-based supplier and had been illegally unloaded and stored at the warehouse for almost a month without any approval from the port auhority.
State Customs director Datuk Ramli Johari said the goods were seized on Tuesday at 11.15am when Customs enforcement officers barged into the warehouse after being tipped off about the illicit goods stored there. “The manager of the warehouse failed to submit a declaration notice of the goods when it arrived at the port, and later unloaded them at the warehouse storage area,” he said.
Ramli said the declaration of cargo shipment or imported goods is a required procedure for customs inspections before the goods can be released. Ramli said the offence is punishable by law under Section 19 of the Free Zone Act 1990, which stipulates a maximum fine of RM5,000, upon conviction, for failure to declare any cargo shipped in or out of the port to the port authority.
