THE seventh battalion of the General Operations Force (GOF7) seized various brands of firecrackers and rice worth RM44,879 in two separate raids in Tumpat and Tanah Merah yesterday.

GOF7 commanding officer Azhari Nusi, said the first raid was conducted  at Kuala Jambu, in Tumpat, at 5.45am, when the enforcement team detected some individuals behaving suspiciously while transferring several boxes from a boat to the river bank.

“Upon realising the presence of police, all of them fled in a boat to the neighbouring country.

“Police checks found 1,462 boxes and 100 packets containing firecrackers, with an estimated market value of RM29,135, believed to be smuggled from Thailand,” he said in a statement today.

He said the items were brought to the Kuala Jambu police station for further action. The case is being investigated under section 8 of the Explosives Act 1957.

Meanwhile, in the second raid, Azhari said based on a tip-off, the GOF7 inspected a house, believed to have been turned into a store for smuggled rice, at Kampung Lalang Pepuyu, Tanah Merah at 11.15pm.

“Checks on the premises found 2,461kg of rice, 450kg of glutinous rice and 75kg of nasi dagang rice suspected to have been smuggled from a neighbouring country.

“The total seizure is estimated to be RM15,744. All the seized items were brought to the Lubok Setol police station,” he said.

The case is being investigated under section 20 of the Control of Padi and Rice Act 1994. – Bernama, April 17, 2022.