Malaysian Customs Seize 20.4 Tonnes of Firecrackers, Fireworks

SEPANG (Selangor), Dec 20 (Bernama) -- Like the deadly cobra striking at its prey, the Royal Malaysian Customs Department at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) was dead on target when it raided three stores and thwarted an attempt to smuggle 20.4 tonnes of firecrackers and fireworks in Selangor state last Wednesday. The KLIA Enforcement Division and the Customs Operational Battle Force Response Assault (Cobra) tactical unit struck the stores located at Batu Arang in Rawang and seized the consignment valued at RM825,714, which included unpaid taxes. Enforcement Division assistant director-general, Azimah Abd Hamid said a team from the division and Cobra conducted the raid following following a tip-off received in conjunction with an operation dubbed ‘Ops Krismas’. “The firecrackers and fireworks are believed to have been smuggled from China for the Klang Valley market in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebration in February. “The team also seized 1,225 litres of liquor from various countries estimated at RM17,133.60, with unpaid taxes of RM70,697.05,” she told a press conference here Tuesday. Azimah said a 25-year-old Bangladeshi man was detained to facilitate investigations under Section 135(1)(d) of the Customs Act 1967. In KOTA BHARU (Kelantan), the Malaysian Border Security Agency (Aksem) confiscated 5,000kg of firecrackers and fireworks valued at RM180,000 in a raid at an oil palm plantation in Jeram Pasu, Pasir Puteh Monday. Its state commander, Mohd Asri Yahya said two teams from the agency raided the area at 7.30pm before they stumbled on an abandoned lorry. “Checks on the vehicle led to the seizure of 180 boxes containing the firecrackers and fireworks which were believed to have been smuggled from a neighbouring country for distribution in the Klang Valley in conjunction with the Chinese New Year,” he told a press conference Tuesday. Meanwhile in ALOR SETAR (Kedah), the state Aksem seized 37 boxes of firecrackers worth RM10,000 which were hidden in a resting hut of a golf club in Bukit Kayu Hitam Monday. “...we believe the boxes were left there temporarily before transferring them to another place to be sold,” said Bukit Kayu Hitam Aksem commander ASP Mohd Khairi Abdullah in a statement here Tuesday. -- BERNAMA