MIRI – The Sarawak Marine Police have busted a cigarette smuggling attempt in Miri, seizing RM7.83 mil worth of cigarettes and a cargo lorry in the biggest haul in this region.
Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Mohd Azman Ahmad Sapri today said the bust occurred around 9.40pm on Wednesday, July 5 along the Kuala Baram Bypass highway about 20kms from Miri city centre.
“The raiding team from the Sarawak Marine Police Region 5 stopped the lorry and inspected the cargo inside.
“Checks found a cargo of various types of cigarettes that are contraband in nature.
“It is estimated there are about seven million sticks of cigarettes in the cargo.
“The team arrested the three men that were in the cargo lorry. The suspects, the cargo and the lorry have been taken to the Miri police headquarters,” he said in a press statement today.
Azman said the case is classified under Section 135(1) of the Customs Act 1967.
The offenders can be fined up to 20 times the value of the cargo or jailed for up to three years or both upon conviction. – The Vibes, July 7, 2023
