GOF cracks down on plant smuggling at Kelantan border
KOTA BHARU: Batalion 8 of the General Operations Force (GOF), Tenggara Brigade, seized a large quantity of decorative plants suspected to have been smuggled from Thailand after intercepting a suspicious lorry in Kampung Ana, Tumpat, last Sunday.
In a statement today, Brigade Commander Datuk Nik Ros Azhan Nik Ab Hamid said the operation, under Op Taring Wawasan Kelantan, led to the discovery of 115 blackwood bonsai trees, 3,000 jasmine plants, 5,000 Papan plants, and 3,000 Jina plants believed to have been brought in illegally.
The 42-year-old driver was allegedly transporting the plants, estimated at RM2.42 million, to a nursery in Perak. The case is being investigated under Section 5 of the Plant Quarantine Act 1976 (Act 167).
In a separate incident in Jeram Perdah, Pasir Mas, Nik Ros Azhan said another suspicious lorry was detained in front of Pos Pok Teh Kana around 7.30 pm the same day.
He said a search of the vehicle uncovered 15,000 green bamboo plants and 30 casuarina trees believed to have been smuggled from Thailand for delivery to a nursery in Johor. The estimated value of this seizure, including the lorry, is RM1.02 million.
Nik Ros Azhan emphasised that it will carry out sustained, intensive enforcement along the border to curb rampant smuggling of plants and other goods.
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