KOTA BHARU, March 27 — A smuggler fled by boat to a neighbouring country, abandoning 4,000 pieces of hijab worth RM160,000 to avoid being arrested by the authorities in Kampung Simpangan, Tumpat, last night.
General Operations Force (GOF9) 9th Battalion commanding officer, Supt Nor Azizan Yusof said earlier, his team was conducting Op Benteng patrols at the location and became suspicious of a Proton Iswara car at 10 pm.
“Team members who tried to approach the vehicle were taken aback when the driver of the car darted out and headed straight towards the river to board a boat to flee to a neighbouring country.
"An inspection of the vehicle found 4,000 pieces of hijab in several packages stuffed in the passenger seat and car boot," he said in a statement, today.
Nor Azizan said the investigation revealed that hijab were suspected to have been smuggled in from Thailand for local traders to meet customer demand ahead of the Hari Raya Aidilfitri festive season.
"Following this incident, all case items worth RM167,000 including vehicles were handed over to the Royal Malaysian Customs Department for further investigation in accordance with Section 135 (1)(e) of the Customs Act 1967," he added.
— Bernama
