THE Customs Department will announce the suspension of the licences of 20 forwarding agents next month.

Director-general Subromaniam Tholasy said the decision was made in accordance with the Customs Demerit Point System introduced in April to curb smuggling via ports.

He said agents involved in smuggling or frequently caught committing related offences and had accumulated 40 penalty points risked having their licences suspended or revoked.

He said there were nearly 3,000 agents in the country, and applications for new licences had been frozen since 2006.

He was speaking at a press conference in Sibu today, where he shared Customs officers’ success in foiling the smuggling of alcoholic drinks, cigarettes and firecrackers, worth an estimated RM21.07 million in value and unpaid duties.

“The items, which were in eight containers, were seized from the Rajang Port Authority wharf in Sibu in October. They were falsely declared as furniture and other items.”

He added that Customs officers had seized three containers at the Tanjung Manis Port in Sarikei over the last three months.

“The seized items were beer, declared as machine spare parts, and cigarettes and firecrackers, declared as furniture and furniture parts.”

The items were worth an estimated RM6.772 million in value and unpaid duties.

Subromaniam said investigations into the shipping and forwarding agents involved were ongoing. – Bernama, December 27, 2017.