Sabah Customs seizes smuggled alcohol worth over RM1.9mil at Sepanggar Port

KOTA KINABALU: The Customs Department thwarted five attempts to smuggle liquor worth over RM1.9mil including taxes at the Sepanggar Port here recently.

Sabah Customs assistant director-general Datuk Mohd Nasir Deraman said all the contraband goods were detected through monitoring by the Sepanggar Port Import-Export Branch and the city Enforcement Operations Unit.

He said five containers from Hong Kong and Singapore containing the liquor were smuggled into the country.

“The first case involved the seizure on April 16 of a container that was brought in through the Sepanggar Port filled with ‘Anchor’ branded liquor estimated to be worth RM386,793 in total.

We then managed to break three more attempts to smuggle in liquor involving three containers on April 17,” he said.

He added that they seized beer shipments estimated to cost RM1.16mil including duties and taxes.

Speaking to reporters at the Sepanggar Customs enforcement building on Thursday (April 25), Mohd Nasir said that they seized another container containing beer on April 18.

He added that the value of the last seizure is RM386,793 including taxes and duties.

Meanwhile, Mohd Nasir explained that the modus operandi was to use fraudulent statements concerning the addresses of the intended recipients.

He said that further investigations conducted by the department found that all the addresses of the receiving premises provided did not exist.

“Investigations under Section 52 of the Customs Act 1967 and Section 135 (1) (d) of the same Act are ongoing.

If convicted, offenders can be fined not less than 10 times the value of the goods or RM100,000 and not more than 20 times the value of the goods or RM500,000, whichever is greater.

“Offenders may also face imprisonment for a period of not less than six months and not more than five years or both,” he said.