THE Ninth Battalion of the General Operations Force (GOF) seized 67 boxes of white cigarettes worth RM500,000 hidden at the back of a lorry in Kg Kok Bedullah in Tumpat this morning.

Its commanding officer Nor Azizan Yusof said the seizure was made at about 6am when its intelligence team and a crime prevention patrol team from the Tumpat district police headquarters came across the lorry being driven in a suspicious manner.

He said the driver fled into the nearby bushes as soon as he was pulled over at the roadside.

“Further inspection at the back of the vehicle found 67 large boxes, each containing 50 cartons of contraband cigarettes believed to be made in China.

“The total seizure amount including the vehicle is estimated at RM512,500,” he said in a statement today.

Nor Azizan said the confiscated items were believed to have been smuggled in via an illegal base to be sold at the local market.

He said all the items were taken to the Tumpat police station for further investigations under Section 135(1) of the Customs Act 1967. – Bernama, March 19, 2021.