Customs uncovers illicit ciggy stash in abandoned Cheras house
SEPANG: An abandoned house in Cheras was found to have been used as a store for illicit cigarette stash during an inspection by the Customs Department.
KL International Airport Customs director Zulkifli Muhammad, at a press conference at the department headquarters here on Thursday (June 19), said that the find was made on May 22 in Cheras.
'The building didn't even have doors on it. Inspections led to the discovery of 1,878,800 cigarettes of various brands, and 377kg of tobacco that we believed had yet to be taxed.
'The value of the cigarettes was placed at RM187,880, with duties and taxes worth RM1.26mil. The tobacco was estimated to be valued at RM75,400, with taxes valued at RM43,618.90,' he said.
He added that the building was still under investigation including tracing down its owner
Another case highlighted saw around 1.44mill of ganja buds seized and a local male suspect arrested.
The suspect was caught on April 17 after he found that he had been blacklisted when attempting to leave the country for a holiday.
'The suspect and his baggage were then handed over to the Customs department for security checks.
'Scans on his bag showed that he had been carrying around 14.653kg of ganja buds. He had also attempted to run away but was stopped by Customs officers,' he said, adding that the man has since been charged in court.
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