TANAH MERAH: The General Operations Force here seized 9,369 smuggled shoes and 1,866 handbags worth about RM3.18 million in an operation yesterday.
GOF Southeast Brigade commander Datuk Nik Ros Azhan Nik Ab Hamid said a man was also arrested in the operation at Jalan Ismail Petra.
He said a GOF team had stopped a lorry as it passed by the area where they were operating about 1.30pm.
"They directed the lorry driver to stop the vehicle. During an inspection, the team found 9,369 imitation shoes of various brands like Nike, Adidas and Timberland as well as 1,866 handbags of Channel and Coach brands.
"They then arrested the 27-year-old lorry driver. The smuggled items were worth about RM3.18 million," he said.
Nik Ros Azhan said initial investigations showed that the items were smuggled in from Thailand for local distribution.
"We suspect the man was hired by someone to transport the goods to the buyers," he added.
In another case, a Thai man was detained with several boxes of Thai junk food valued nearly RM4,000 in Rantau Panjang yesterday.
Nik Ros Azhan said the foreigner was driving a Isuzu D-Max pickup truck when arrested at a roadblock in Cabang Empat Salam.
"The suspect was on his way to deliver the junk food to his buyers when he was arrested about 2pm," he added.