Shopkeepers jailed, fined over contraband cigarettes

Shopkeepers jailed, fined over contraband cigarettes

TUMPAT - The magistrate's court yesterday sentenced three sundry shop owners each to six days' jail, and fines of between RM1,500 (S$576) and RM3,000 for possessing contraband cigarettes here last week.

Wan Zulkifli Wan Jaafar, 31, Muhamad Ruslan Razali, 28, Azizul Husin, 30, had pleaded guilty to their offences before magistrate Ahmad Adha Amir Yasser Amri.

The men were charged under Section 135(1)(d) of the Customs Act 1967 for possessing goods, which were forbidden from being imported.

Wan Zulkifli was charged with possessing three packs of Surya, Nusantara (seven), John (two) and Tex (11) at his shop in Kampung Kebakat here at 1pm on March 20.

Ruslan was charged with possessing various contraband cigarettes valued at RM249 at Sedar Maju Solution in Kampung Sedar at 12.20pm the same day.

Lastly, Azizul was charged with possession of a carton of Nusantara, Surya (one pack), John (one carton), Astro (eight packs) and D&J (seven packs) at his shop in Kampung Air Dingin at 12.50pm, also on the same day.

All three were unrepresented while Customs prosecuting officer Norbayani Shamsuddin prosecuted.

Norbayani had asked the court for appropriate sentences, while the three appealed for a light sentence as they had to support their families.

The proceedings were the latest in the Customs Department's war against the sale of illicit cigarettes valued at millions of ringgit a year.

Enforcement officers have been conducting an operation named Op Outlet to curb such sales, recognising that not only do smuggled cigarettes cause financial losses, they also encourage people to smoke more as the prices are cheaper.

The lower prices are also believed to encourage the underage to pick up smoking.

This week, raids were conducted in several states as well as in Kuala Lumpur. They were carried out on Tuesday and yesterday.

Yesterday's raids saw operations conducted in Kuala Lumpur, Johor and Kedah.

In Kuala Lumpur, Customs officers detained a sundry shop worker in his 20s and seized about 3,000 sticks of illicit cigarettes during a raid in Ulu Kelang about noon.

Most of the cigarettes were found stacked under the cashier counter while the remaining contraband were found in an orange plastic bag in the shop storeroom.

The shop worker was an Indonesian without valid documents.

He was taken to the Federal Territory Customs Department headquarters in Kelana Jaya, Petaling Jaya, for investigation and questioning after the raid.

The seized contraband brands were Gudang Garam Nusantra, June, Zone King and Luffman.

The operations are mainly focused on dealers, retailers, distributors and also consumers.

In Segamat, Customs officers raided three outlets found selling illicit cigarettes.

Three Customs teams raided an outlet each in Kampung Jawa, Tenang Station and Jalan Medoi and found an assortment of illicit cigarettes in the sundry shops.

Some of the brands found were John, June Slims Luffman, Gudang Garam, Zon King and Nusantara.

The raids started about 1.30pm and ended two hours later.

In Alor Star, enforcement officers arrested a 42-year-old sundry shop owner in Pokok Sena and seized 84 packets of contraband cigarettes.

The contraband was found in a box placed with other boxes containing food under a rack.

Among the illicit cigarettes seized were Bingo, June, John, Surya, Gudang Garam and Luffman.

According to the shop own's wife, in her late 30s, the illegal cigarettes were sold for up to RM7 per packet as compared to the premium cigarettes sold at RM12 per packet in the market.

She said illicit cigarettes were mostly purchased by the elderly and residents from nearby villages.

The sundry shop was among the four premises inspected in Pokok Sena district during the operation.

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