Liquor and firecrackers smuggling attempt foiled

The Bukit Kayu Hitam Anti-Smuggling Unit (UPP) foiled an attempt to smuggle in an assortment of liquor, firecrackers and fireworks worth RM3,000 at Jalan Putra, Air Hitam, Jitra, yesterday.

Bukit Kayu Hitam UPP commander ASP Baharim Kamis said, a 22-year-old local man was detained and 38 boxes of hard liquor and 1,193 packets of the pyrotechnics were seized about 1.30 pm during the operation led by Sgt Kamarul Zaman Ahmad.

The items were found at the back of a Toyota Estima multi-purpose vehicle traveling from Kangar to Alor Setar, which had its rear windows screened with a black curtain to evade detection, he said at a press conference here today.

The suspect will be interrogated before being handed over to the Customs Department for further action, he added.

He said such an offence was punishable by a fine of 10 to 20 times the value of the smuggled items, three years prison or both, upon conviction under the Customs Act 1967.

Baharim added that UPP would be stepping up its patrols at the Bukit Kayu Hitam border area, leading up to the Chinese New Year in February, to combat the smuggling of the banned items.