Latest news with #RM5.1mil
The Star
2 days ago
- The Star
Penang Customs thwarts RM5mil vape smuggling bid
BUTTERWORTH: The Penang Customs Department has thwarted an attempt to smuggle in over 80,000 vape pods and nearly 1,000 litres of vape liquid, worth a staggering RM5.1mil including taxes, into the country via Penang and Selangor. Its director Rohaizad Ali said the first raid revealed that the illicit consignment had been declared as plastic materials and hidden among other imported goods in a bid to evade detection. The first raid saw Customs officers inspecting a container at the North Butterworth Container Terminal at around 1.15pm on April 3. 'Our officers seized 14,200 unit of vape pods and 220 litres of vape liquid worth about RM1.5mil, including taxes,' he told a press conference yesterday. Rohaizad added that during the raid, two men – a port agent and a Chinese national in their 30s – were detained. In the second raid at Port Klang on April 10, Customs officers confiscated 71,886 vape pods and 786 litres of vape liquid and electronic gels worth about RM3.64mil. A port agent was arrested to assist in investigations, said Rohaizad. Meanwhile, the department also seized more than 18kg of ganja buds worth some RM1.8mil in separate operations in the state. Rohaizad said on April 16, a team from the Customs narcotics unit conducted checks on parcels at Pos Malaysia's mail courier centre in Batu Kawan and discovered four packages containing dried plant material believed to be ganja buds. He said the seized drugs weighed slightly over 2.2kg and were valued at RM219,128. To avoid detection, the parcels were declared as containing nine units of 'comic books' and exported to the United Kingdom before being returned with the status of 'returned parcel'.
The Star
3 days ago
- The Star
Customs seizes near RM10mil in vapes and liquid
BUTTERWORTH: More than 80,000 vapes and almost 1000litre of vapes liquid worth RM5.1mil have been seized by the Customs Department in separate raids in Penang and Selangor. Penang Customs Department director Rohaizad Ali said all the seized items were believed to have been brought into the country from China for the local market. "In the first raid at North Butterworth Container Terminal around 1.15pm on April 3, Customs seized 14,200 unit of vapes and 220-litre of vapes liquid worth about RM1.5mil including tax," he told a press conference at the Bagan Jermal Enforcement Storage Facility on Thursday. He said further checks on the container revealed that the items had been declared as plastic material along with other imported merchandise. He said two men, a port agent and a Chinese national in their 30s, were detained during the raid. He said the Chinese national admitted to owning the container which held other imported items. Rohaizad said that in the second raid conducted at Port Klang, Customs confiscated 71,886 vape units and 786-litre of vape liquid and electronic gels around 11am on April 10. "The seized items were worth about RM4.64mil inclusive of taxes," he added. He said both cases are being investigated under Section 133(1)(a) of the Customs Act 1967.
