PONTIAN: General Operations Force (GOF) personnel have arrested a 32-year-old suspect and seized 60 cartons of contraband cigarettes in Benut here.

       GOF Battalion 5 commanding officer Supt Dimin Awang said the suspect was arrested at the premises where the contraband goods was stored at Jalan Mutiara 6, Pusat Perniagaan Benut around 10.30pm on Monday (July 19).

       He said a tip-off alerted them to the suspect, who was believed to be responsible for distributing the contraband goods in the Pontian area.

       “We believe that he used the premises as a storehouse for the cigarettes before supplying them to sundry shops around the area. So far, we found out he has been carrying out the activities on his own but we are trying to identify whether there are others involved,” Supt Dimin said.

       Supt Dimin added that the suspect, and seized cigarettes of various brands worth at least RM12,144, were handed over to the Pontian district police headquarters for further investigations under Section 135(1) of the Customs Act 1967.

       He urged the public to continue channelling relevant information to the police to combat contraband and illegal activities in the community.

       The public can get in touch with the state police hotline at 07-2212 999 or lodge a report at the nearest police station.