RANTAU PANJANG: Smugglers along the Kelantan-Thai border are increasingly turning to smuggling junk food and groceries, as sourcing diesel and petrol has become more challenging.
The General Operations Force (GOF) has seen a noticeable rise in such cases recently.
In the latest incident yesterday, GOF officers seized Thai junk food and groceries worth over RM33,000 in two separate operations in Jeram Perdah.
GOF Southeast Brigade commander Datuk Nik Ros Azhan Nik Ab Hamid said that the goods, smuggled from Thailand, were discovered in boxes at Syed Deraman illegal jetty during the first operation.
The items, valued at RM19,000, were abandoned along the Sungai Golok riverbank.
No arrests were made during the 1pm operation.
"In a second operation, conducted an hour later in Kampung Bukit Lata, a 34-year-old man was arrested for smuggling items worth RM14,000.
"A four-wheel-drive vehicle used for transporting the goods was also seized," he said.
Nik Ros Azhan said that GOF had recorded more than 10 cases of Thai junk food and grocery smuggling in the past month.
Separately, three drug addicts were arrested at a roadblock last night.
The men, in their 20s, were travelling in a car when they were detained by GOF members around 9pm.