IPOH, Sept 30 (Bernama) -- Police arrested a 52-year-old local man and seized 102 cartons of suspected untaxed cigarettes in an operation at Jalan Sungkai, Taman Aman, near Bidor, on Monday.
Perak police chief Datuk Mohd Alwi Zainal Abidin said the suspect was detained at about 8.15 pm after a team from the General Operations Force (GOF) 3rd Battalion spotted a white Proton Iswara being driven suspiciously.
He said a search of the vehicle uncovered 102 cartons of suspected smuggled cigarettes of various brands.
“Police also seized the Proton Iswara, with the total value of the seizure still being assessed,” he said in a statement today.
Mohd Alwi said the suspect admitted during preliminary investigations to possessing and selling the cigarettes, an activity he was believed to have carried out for about three years.
“The suspect claimed that he received a weekly supply from a local man before distributing the cigarettes to small-scale traders in the surrounding area,” he said.
Mohd Alwi said the suspect had been remanded for four days from yesterday to assist in investigations under Section 135(1)(d) of the Customs Act 1967.
He added that samples of the seized cigarettes would be sent to the Department of Chemistry Malaysia for analysis, with further investigations underway to identify their source and distribution network.
--BERNAMA