PASIR MAS (Bernama): Twenty-one puppies, worth RM168,000, believed to be from breeds that are rare in the country were seized by the 9th Battalion of the General Operations Force (GOF) Thursday (Oct 28).

       GOF 9th Battalion commanding officer Supt Nor Azizan Yusof said in the operation, his team intercepted a four-wheel drive (4WD) vehicle near Gua Nering here at 6.30am Thursday.

       He said the smuggling activity was initially detected at the Kubang Rambutan illegal jetty after his team became suspicious of the 4WD.

       ''Realising he was being tailed, the driver sped off towards the Rantau Panjang-Pasir Mas road and then proceeded to Taman Pertama, near Gua Nering, before being intercepted.

       "Upon investigation of the 4WD, nine cages with 21 puppies of various rare breeds were found," Nor Azizan said in a statement Friday (Oct 29).

       A man was detained and a report lodged at the Rantau Panjang police station. Meanwhile, the puppies were sent to the Taman Bakti Tactical Company (Komtak) for further action.

       "The seized puppies and vehicle, estimated to be worth around RM193,000, were handed over to the Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Department (Maqis) for further action," he said. - Bernama