Smugglers hide illicit cigarettes with various disguises including in vehicle tyres, says Sarawak Customs

KUCHING (April 25): Smugglers have been detected concealing illicit cigarettes using various disguises to avoid detection by the authorities.

This was disclosed by Customs Department Sarawak deputy director Abang Zamari Abang Nazarin to reporters when met after attending a dialogue on ‘Sarawak’s Illicit Trade: Drivers, Risks and the Cost of Prohibition’, held at a hotel here.

He said the contraband items would even be detected hidden inside vehicle tyres.

“They (smugglers) would use various tactics, but more often they would use disguises to conceal the contraband using other items.

“Some of the cigarettes are also found hidden inside vehicle tyres.

“There are many more tactics employed by the smugglers to breach our Sarawak border,” he said.

According to statistics from Customs Department Sarawak, as at March this year, it seized 10.19 million sticks of illegal cigarettes worth RM1.9 million, with an estimated duty value of RM7.3 million.

However, the data only pertained to seizure of illicit cigarettes, and not other contraband items such as alcoholic drinks.

Adding on, Abang Zamari said with the recent enforcement efforts done by Customs Sarawak, the department managed to prevent the smuggling of illicit cigarettes into the state.