POLICE arrested a man, and seized 1.2 million white and clove cigarettes worth RM1.24 million, during a raid on a house on Jalan Naib Kadir, Bukit Pasir, Muar, on Friday.

Muar police chief Raiz Mukhliz Azman Aziz said the arrest followed a four-week combined intelligence and surveillance operation carried out by the 5th Battalion Simpang Renggam general operations force and Muar police.

He said following the raid at 2.30pm, in which a 54-year-old man was arrested, police seized 118 large packages of various brands of cigarettes comprising 4,000 cartons, a Proton Wira car, two mobile phones and RM1,699 cash.

“At the time of the raid, the man was arranging the cigarettes in the house that he had rented and it is believed the cigarettes were to be marketed around the area.

“The unpaid duty on the seizure is the biggest for the year.

“The suspect used a rented house as a collection centre before distributing cigarettes to customers,” he said today.

Raiz added that the man did not have a permanent job and began deal in contraband cigarettes last year.

Raiz also said the suspect had no previous convictions and they were still investigating whether he had any accomplices. – Bernama, April 17, 2023.