PORT KLANG, Sept 30 — The Selangor Royal Malaysian Customs Department has foiled three smuggling attempts involving various commodities, including electrical goods, with a total value of RM114.35 million, inclusive of duties and taxes, in separate operations here and in the Klang Valley.
Its director Noraidah Ishak said the seizures were made during raids conducted under Ops Renjat, Ops Sentinel, and Ops Demeter.
The first case was uncovered following inspections of 30 containers carried out jointly with the Energy Commission (ST) at the Port Klang Free Zone between April 15 and August 15.
“The inspections resulted in the seizure of 29,797 units of electrical goods and 3,831 gas stoves believed to have been imported without the required Certificate of Approval (COA) issued by the ST.
“The seized goods are estimated to be worth RM2.61 million, with duties and taxes amounting to RM812,426, bringing the total value to RM3.42 million,” she said during a media conference at the Customs' North Port building complex today.
Noraidah added that the second case involved inspecting 15 containers at the Port Klang Free Zone and raiding two business premises in the Klang Valley between July 1 and July 31.
“The operation led to the seizure of 135 million white cigarettes, 14,488.54 litres of liquor, and 5,672kg of tobacco, with a total value of RM105.31 million, including duties and taxes.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that the goods, which were not declared in the manifest for the containers under transhipment status, originated from several Asian countries,” she said.
In the third case, authorities seized 394.74 tonnes of scrap metal and 558.94 tonnes of plastic waste after inspecting 38 containers at the Port Klang Free Zone between July 15 and July 31.
“The entire shipment, valued at RM5.62 million inclusive of duties and taxes, is believed to have been imported without the required permits issued by the Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia.
“The modus operandi involved falsely declaring the goods on Customs forms as used engines, copper sheets, aluminium alloys and plastics in an attempt to evade detection by the Customs Department,” Noraidah said.
The investigations into all three cases are ongoing under Sections 135(1)(a), 133(1)(a), 135(1)(d), and 52(1) of the Customs Act 1967.
