KOTA KINABALU – Smugglers had attempted to bring in RM300,000 worth of pork by declaring the items as french fries at the Tawau port in Sabah.
The Customs Department foiled the bid after scanning the container that came in from Hong Kong yesterday, said Deputy Finance Minister I Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan.
Ahmad said Customs personnel stopped the container for a scan after reviewing its manifest which stated it was only bringing french fries.
He said the pork was valued at some RM300,000 with unpaid duty of RM65,700.
The case is being investigated under Section 135(1)(a) of the Customs Act 1967, he said, after making an inspection at the Customs office at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport here today.
Ahmad also said that the federal government made RM1.79 billion in revenue from customs tax collections last year.
Deputy Finance Minister I Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said RM574.2 million of the revenue was derived from sales and services tax and RM1.216 billion from customs revenue collection. A total of RM127,493 was made from tourism tax last year.
“We hope the collection will continue to increase. We have asked all the state customs offices nationwide to work more towards it this year.
“This is in hopes that with a bigger collection more of the plans set out by the government for the people can be realised,” he told reporters – The Vibes, March 7, 2023
