KUANTAN: A lorry driver made a swift getaway on foot into a palm oil grove in the dark after Customs officers stopped his vehicle, where they later discovered 1.68 million contraband white cigarettes worth RM1.2 million.
Pahang Customs Department director Mohd Asri Seman said today that acting on a tip-off, the department's enforcement team flagged down the lorry which was believed to be travelling towards a neighbouring state.
"Upon realising our presence, the lorry driver stopped his vehicle and fled. He escaped on foot into the nearby oil palm plantation in the dark," he told reporters.
The seizure of the cigarettes occurred on Oct 22.
"Enforcement officers found the cigarettes roughly worth RM134,400, with total duty estimated at RM1.12 million," Asri said, adding that "we believe the vehicle was used to transport the cigarettes from an east coast state to another location."
Asri said the illicit cigarettes were found in the vehicle's rear compartment.
A key factor that contributes to the economic incentive to trade in illegal cigarettes is the high prices of legal cigarettes in Malaysia led by excise duties imposed over the years.
The high demand for cheap illegal cigarettes serves as a major incentive for smugglers to engage in the illegal cigarette trade despite the risk.
Meanwhile, in an another incident on Nov 3, Asri said the enforcement team confiscated 897,800 sticks of contraband white cigarettes after raiding a warehouse in Alor Gajah, Melaka.
"Upon inspecting the premises, we seized the cigarettes worth RM71,824 with unpaid duties totalling RM599,730," he said.
Asri said investigations revealed that it was smuggled from a neighbouring country by sea and were to be distributed to syndicates in the nearby areas," he said, adding that an operation was underway to dismantle the cigarette smuggling syndicate.
Malaysia's long coastal lines, isolated jetties and long, porous borders also make it easy for crime syndicates to smuggle in illegal cigarettes undetected.