KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Customs has foiled a syndicate's attempt to smuggle 3,000 cartons of liquor by declaring them as canned food.
Assistant Sabah Customs director-general Siti Mang said an inspection at Sepanggar port uncovered the 23,760 litres of liquor, estimated to be worth RM90,050.
Along with duties and taxes, the seizure was worth RM368,375.04.
"Initial investigations confirmed that the container was declared as containing canned peanuts, canned food, and fish luncheon," she said during a press conference.
In a separate incident, Siti said a raid on an unnumbered storeroom at Jalan Padas Valley, Kampung Luagan Sanginan, Beaufort, uncovered 468 cartons of various types of liquor, estimated to be worth RM69,657, including taxes.
"In this case, a man, 28, was arrested. The modus operandi for this case involved using an unoccupied storeroom to store goods that were not declared to customs," she said.
Both cases are being investigated under Section 135 of the Customs Act for possession of undeclared goods.
If convicted, the offender could be fined no less than ten times the value of the goods or RM100,000, and no more than 20 times the value of the goods or RM500,000.