Cigarettes smuggled in as soya beans

State Customs seized 192,000 cartons of smuggled cigarettes at Senari Port on Friday.

The cigarettes, worth RM1.6 million, arrived at the port last Thursday and were declared as soya beans from a neighbouring country.

State director Datuk Rusmani Abdul Sukur said the seizure was based on a tip-off.


"We have identified the consignee and agents of the container and are still investigating," he said yesterday.

In Butterworth, state Customs officers seized cigarettes worth RM1.1 million with unpaid duty amounting to RM4.8 million.

State Customs chief Datuk Matrang Suhaili said officers seized 50,000 cartons of "Tex" brand cigarettes from a 40-foot container at the North Butterworth Container Terminal on Sunday.

The consignment, weighing some 40 tonnes, had been declared as "animal feed" from Canada and was addressed to a feed mill in Sungai Bakap, near Nibong Tebal.

Matrang said investigations showed the company was not aware of the import.

A forwarding company supervisor and two haulier drivers had been detained to facilitate investigations.