KOTA BHARU:The Ninth Battalion of the General Operations Force (GOF9) seized 45 tonnes of Thai rice, including 23 tonnes of glutinous rice, believed to have been smuggled into the country, in Tanah Merah, 51km from here, yesterday.

GOF9 commander Supt Nor Azizan Yusof said the seizure was made during a raid on a store near Kampung Bendang Buyong, Jedok, where two men, aged 41 and 24 years, believed to be the store owners, were arrested.

He said the raid was conducted after GOF9 received a tip-off on the store being used to keep smuggled Thai rice.

The raid at the store, which is located near an illegal jetty on the Malaysia-Thailand border, was conducted at 4 pm after two days of monitoring and surveillance,  he said in a statement today.

He said the GOF team found an Isuzu lorry, 22 tonnes of Thai rice (worth RM88,000) , 23 tonnes of glutinous rice (RM161,000) suspected to have been smuggled into the country, at the premises.

‘’They also found forged stamps of the National Rice and Padi Regulatory Division (BKSPBN),” he said, adding that seized items were handed over to BKSPBN for investigation under Section 20 of the Control of Rice and Padi Act 1994.

-- BERNAMA