SIBU, April 13: The State General Operations Force (GOF) arrested 49 people and seized contraband worth RM17.8 million in 39 cases recorded from January 1 to April 12.
Its deputy commander Shaikh Abdul Adzis Shaikh Abdullah in a statement said of the 49 people, 43 of them were men while the rest were women, and the individuals arrested included Indonesians. Also confiscated were 22 vehicles of various types.
“Based on the statistics, State GOF has recorded 43 cases and 58 arrests including six foreigners involving a total seizure of RM27.7 million through contraband operations last year,” he added.
In a recent case on April 6, a police team from 10th Battalion Sibu seized fireworks worth RM150,500 from a 26-year-old man.
The second case on April 7, involving the 11th Battalion in Kuching, saw GOF confiscating illicit cigarettes and beer amounting to RM26,310.00 (including taxes) and arresting a 20-year-old individual.
A third incident on April 8 saw the 12th PGA Battalion raiding a house in Limbang which was suspected to be used as a storage place for illegal cigarettes.
The team detained a 54-year-old man and seized illegal cigarettes worth an estimated RM506,912 (including tax).
Shaikh Abdul Adzis said, during a fourth raid carried out by a police team from the intelligence branch of the Sarawak GOF Brigade headquarters, a local man and an Indonesian man aged 28 and 37 respectively were arrested.
“Following an inspection, a total of 8,400 cartons of white cigarettes and 17,600 cartons of kretek cigarettes of various brands were found loaded in a lorry where the total estimated seizure is worth RM1,549,560.00,” he said.
For the fifth case on the same day (April 12), the team had also nabbed a 28-year-old local man and confiscated 1,872 cartons of white cigarettes of various brands stored in a house used as a cigarette storage area in Kuching.
The estimated total value of the confiscation was RM280,800 including tax.
Shaikh Abdul Adzis said all arrests and seizures were handed over to the Crime Investigation Division of the police headquarters in the relevant district for further action and investigation.
All cases are being investigated under Section 135 (1) (d) of the Customs Act 1967. — DayakDaily
