PGA Foils Smuggling Of Liquor, Fruit Saplings Worth RM413,500 In Border Operations

KOTA BHARU, June 16 (Bernama) -- The Southeast Brigade of the General Operations Force (PGA) foiled two separate smuggling attempts involving liquor and 1,600 fruit saplings, with a total value of RM413,500, in operations in Rantau Panjang and Pasir Mas today.

Its commander, SAC Ahmad Radzi Hussain, said the success was achieved through Ops Taring Wawasan Kelantan carried out by members of the 8th PGA Battalion in an effort to strengthen security control along the country’s border.

He said in the first case, PGA personnel stationed at the Cabang Empat Salam roadblock in Rantau Panjang stopped a Toyota Hilux carrying two men, aged 33 and 23, at 6.30 am, and upon inspecting the vehicle, they found several boxes and cartons of liquor of various brands hidden in the rear passenger seat area.

“Initial investigations found that the liquor was purchased in Thailand and brought into the country via illegal jetties around Kampung Kedap, Rantau Panjang,” he said in a statement today, with the seizure estimated at RM103,500, including the vehicle used to transport the liquor.

In a separate case, PGA personnel also detained a lorry at Kampung Lalang Pepuyu, Pasir Mas at 12.30 pm, and upon inspection, uncovered 1,600 saplings of various types of fruits being transported by a 23-year-old driver and a 60-year-old assistant.

“The driver failed to produce any documentation for the cargo. Investigations found that the saplings are believed to have been brought in from a neighbouring country and are suspected of carrying pests that could harm the country’s agricultural sector,” he said.

According to Ahmad Radzi, the total seizure involving the saplings and the lorry was estimated to be worth RM310,000.

Initial investigations found that all the saplings were obtained from a nursery in Kampung Limau Purut, Rantau Panjang, before being sent to the Tunjong Rural Transformation Centre (RTC) here.

He said the liquor case is being investigated under Section 135(1)(d) of the Customs Act 1967, while the saplings case is being investigated under Section 5 of the Plant Quarantine Act 1976 (Act 167).

-- BERNAMA