ROYAL Malaysian Customs (JKDM) has recorded seizures of illicit cigarettes, tobacco and cigars totalling RM903.49 million (including duties and taxes) over the past two years, the department’s director-general Datuk Anis Rizana Mohd Zainudin disclosed, as law enforcement grapples with a thriving black market driven by high excise and heavy price gaps.
JKDM logged RM548.73 million worth of seizures (including duties and taxes) across 2,621 cases in 2024.
Cigarettes accounted for 2,545 of those cases, with seizures valued at RM93.18 million and duties and taxes assessed at RM399.52 million.
Tobacco cases numbered 75 with seizures of RM21.07 million and duties and taxes of RM34.2 million, while a single cigar case recorded a seizure value of RM20,000 and duties and taxes of RM740,000.
Up to July, this year, authorities recorded 1,517 cases with combined seizure and duty values of RM354.76 million.
“So far this year, there have been 1,488 cigarette cases with seizures of RM72.45 million and duties and taxes totalling RM268.1 million,” Anis said.
“Tobacco registered 28 cases with RM6.34 million seized and duties and taxes of RM6.99 million, while there was one cigar case with seizure value RM70,000 and duties and taxes RM810,000.”
Anis attributed the surge in illicit trade to the widening price differential caused by high taxation on legal tobacco products.
“This has driven demand for smuggled cigarettes sold far below market price, particularly among low-income consumers who seek cheaper alternatives,” she said.
She warned that syndicates employ a variety of concealment tactics, adding: “Among the modus operandi we have detected are false declarations, hiding contraband among legitimate cargo, and altering packaging to deceive enforcement.”
To strengthen border controls, JKDM has deployed 184 cargo and baggage scanners nationwide as of July, 132 of which are AI-enabled and sited at strategic land entry points, ports, jetties and airports.
“All these machines are now fully operational to support enforcement activities,” Anis said, and affirmed that the department continually assesses further scanner needs to bolster border security.
Despite hundreds of yearly raids, the illicit market persists and in some urban districts it is now openly visible.
An exclusive two-week survey by Harian Metro across Ampang, Sentul, Kajang, Klang and Petaling Jaya found packs being advertised and sold at between RM5 and RM8 per pack — far below legal prices that can reach RM20.
Vendors described clandestine distribution methods and on-demand deliveries. “If you want a whole carton, I’ll give it for RM45.
“The stock just arrived last night,” a seller in Ampang, who gave only the name Ah Chong, told a reporter. He described night-time deliveries by intermediaries in private cars using black plastic bags and cash transactions.
In other areas, sellers conceal goods behind the counter or in back rooms and screen customers before selling. I
In Klang, distributors use modified motorcycles to deliver packs to factory districts.
Syndicates are also said to exploit serial small shipments concealed among legitimate cargo, regularly changing routes and timings to evade detection, and to advertise discreetly on Telegram, WhatsApp and Facebook using coded phrases. Transactions are typically cash on delivery.
Buyers and small retailers say economics drive demand. “I know it’s illegal, but what can I do? Legal cigarettes are so expensive.
With smuggled packs I save up to RM300 a month,” said a regular customer in Sentul, Faiz, 29, who orders via smartphone apps.
Some retail owners concede they sell illicit packs because tightening margins on basic goods make it hard to survive.
“If we don’t sell them, it’s difficult to make ends meet. If taxes were lower, perhaps we would not take the risk,” one Petaling Jaya shopkeeper said.
Customs and producers say the persistent availability of cheap contraband — colloquially called “white ghosts” by traders — remains a serious enforcement challenge.
Authorities warn that as long as demand and high profits persist, the illicit cigarette market will continue to thrive despite sustained enforcement efforts. - November 13, 2025
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