SHAH ALAM, Nov 11 — The police have crippled a contraband cigarette distribution network with the arrest of four foreign men and the seizure of items worth over RM1 million in a raid in Sungai Buloh on October 18.
Selangor police chief Datuk Shazeli Kahar said the raid, conducted following the Internal Security and Public Order Department’s intelligence, took place at 3.30am while the suspects were unloading boxes of cigarettes from a lorry into several vehicles.
“The four men, aged between 21 and 38, were detained at the scene. All of them had valid travel documents and entered the country last year.
“Preliminary investigations found the suspects, who worked as contract labourers, were involved in cigarette smuggling on a part-time basis, earning between RM100 and RM200 a day depending on the quantity handled,” he said during a press conference today.
Shazeli added that the vehicles used were registered under other individuals’ names, while the storage premises were a rented house owned by a local.
“The group is believed to be operating independently, without links to larger syndicates. They claimed to have no knowledge of the financial source behind the operation and were only paid for their work,” he said.
The seizure involved 8,727 cartons of cigarettes from various brands worth RM639,470, along with a bonded lorry and seven cars worth RM374,600, bringing the total value to RM1.01 million.
All four suspects were remanded until today and will be handed over to the Kajang district police headquarters for further investigation, as they are believed to be linked to another case in the area.
The case is being investigated under Section 135(1)(d) of the Customs Act 1967 and Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1963.
