PADANG BESAR: A container abandoned in a kenaf plantation in Chuping led authorities to the discovery of 358 cartons of cigarettes with an estimated value of more than RM90,000 including unpaid tax, believed to have been smuggled into the country.
The container was found during an operation conducted by a team from the 18th Battalion of the General Operations Force along the Malaysia-Thailand border yesterday.
District police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Shokri Abdullah said the team found seven packets, wrapped in black plastic bags, inside the container during the operation, dubbed Op Taring Wawasan Kedah/Perlis.
"The team waited almost two hours at the scene but there were no individuals who came to retrieve the contraband," he said in a statement.
Mohd Shokri added that preliminary investigations showed the contraband comprised cigarettes of various brands with unpaid tax.
"The total estimated value of the seized cigarettes is RM94,512," he said.
The case, he said, is being investigated under Section 135(1)(d) of the Customs Act 1967 for possession or selling of smuggled cigarettes.