JOHOR BARU: Over RM8.7mil worth of contraband cigarettes and zam zam water were seized by the Customs Department here following checks on two separate locations here.

       Johor Customs Department director Sazali Mohamad said that the first case was on Dec 28 last year during an inspection that was conducted by the department at the inspection bay of Pasir Gudang Port, here.

       He added that the inspection was conducted at 11.45am on a 40ft container.

       "Inspection inside the container found over 7.9 million sticks of white cigarettes worth RM8,712,000 inclusive of duties and tax.

       "A 43-year-old man who is working for a shipping company was arrested to help with investigations," he said, adding that the container was from China and arrived at the port on Dec 24, 2021.

       He said this during a press conference at the Johor Customs Department headquarters here on Sunday (Jan 9).

       He added that the modus operandi of the syndicate is to create a false manifest declaration form to avoid a higher tax and import permit.

       "The contraband items have been declared as cabinets and cabinet accessories inside the manifest form," he said.

       The case is being investigated under Regulation 30(1) of the Free Zone (Amendment) Regulations 2019, Section 133(1)(a) and 135(1)(a) of the Customs Act 1967 for illegal import of prohibited goods and wrongful declaration of goods.

       Meanwhile, in the second case, Sazali informed that an inspection inside a lorry found 600 bottles or 3,000 litres of zam zam water at Kompleks Sultan Abu Bakar (KSAB), Gelang Patah.

       "The inspection was conducted on Dec 30, 2021, at 3.45pm at the Export Department lane and found 600 bottles of zam zam water that were undeclared in the export manifest.

       "The value of the zam zam water is estimated to be RM66,000, and is set to be exported to Singapore," he said, adding that a lorry driver and his assistant, aged 30 and 21, were arrested to help with investigations.

       He also informed that the case has a similar modus operandi to the first case of falsifying the manifest declaration form.

       "We also found other items along with the zam zam water, such as shower utensils, massage oils, and prayer items that are declared on the manifest except for the zam zam water.

       "A sample of the zam zam water has been sent to the Department of Chemistry Malaysia to test the authenticity of the water. If it is authentic, we will hand over the item to the Health Ministry," he explained.

       The case is investigated under Sections 133(1)(a) and 135(1)(g) of the Customs Act 1967 for wrongful declaration of goods and attempting to smuggle prohibited goods.