THE Johor Customs Department seized 2.91 million sticks of kretek and white cigarettes, estimated at RM3.9 million inclusive of duty and taxes, in two operations on September 6 and 12.

Customs deputy director-general (enforcement and compliance) Sazali Mohamad said the first seizure was made by the Johor Customs Enforcement Division Operations Unit after an inspection of a lorry at the Sultan Iskandar Building in Johor Baru.

He said 830,000 sticks of white cigarettes worth RM166,000 with import duty and sales tax amounting to RM564,400 were found in the lorry, driven by a 39-year-old local man.

“The modus operandi is to not declare the cigarettes, with the intention of smuggling them through commercial lorries into Singapore,” he said at a press conference at Menara Kastam in Johor Baru today.

The second seizure on September 12 was made by the Muar Customs Enforcement Division from three residences in Jerantut, Pahang, and Marang, Terengganu, he said.

Sazali said it involved 2.08 million sticks of kretek and white cigarettes worth RM625,000 with import duty and sales tax of RM2.58 million, suspected to be smuggled from Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.

“They use houses to store the cigarettes. We are tracking the owners of the residences,” he said. – Bernama, September 24, 2023.