KUNAK: Authorities crippled a cigarette smuggling operation with the arrest of a 53-year-old foreign man and the seizure of over 78,000 sticks of contraband cigarettes during a joint raid at Jalan Pangkalan last Wednesday.
The operation, Op Taring Alpha 1, was conducted by the 22nd Battalion General Operations Force (PGA) Task Force, with support from the Kunak Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
According to police, the suspect, who had no valid travel documents, was arrested after intelligence led officers to a wooden storage facility where they found 36,720 sticks of white cigarettes and 41,360 sticks of kretek cigarettesThe contraband, valued at RM78,080, was hidden in the storeroom, and officers also found a set of keys used by the suspect to access the premises. The case is being investigated under Section 135(1)(d) of the Customs Act 1967 and Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.
Further investigation revealed the man had been actively selling untaxed cigarettes for about a year, sourcing them from Tawau through an individual known only as “Doraemon.”All seized items and the suspect have been handed over to Kunak CID for further action. The PGA Task Force said intelligence efforts and enforcement operations will continue to curb smuggling in the district.
