Authorities clamp down on smuggling activities at free zone ports

JOHOR BARU: Free zones in the country’s ports are being manipulated to smuggle hundreds of millions of ringgit worth of liquor and cigarettes.

Goods are being brought from Singapore, China, Vietnam and Cambodia into the free zones on the pretext of being transshipped to a third country.

Instead, the cigarettes and liquor, which are not declared in Malaysia, are smuggled out with the help of port staff, shipping agents and even Customs Department officials.

Some of the consignments at the free zones are allowed to be stored at the ports for up to four months.

Customs director-general Datuk Subromaniam Tholasy, who revealed this yesterday, said the department had seized hundreds of millions of ringgit worth of such goods since enforcing a new ruling on April 1.

“Now, all such goods which previously did not have to be declared to Customs when sent to the free zones at ports require import licences from us.

“We want to know where the goods are coming from and where they are being shipped to.

“We want all the details,” he told a press conference here.

Subromaniam added that over the past three weeks, dozens of containers loaded with cigarettes and liquor in unpaid taxes were “blocked”.

“Each year, the Government loses billions in revenue due to smuggling,” Subromaniam said.

Asked to name the ports, he identified West Port, Port Klang, Butterworth Port, Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) and Johor Port as some of the major ports.

In Johor, Subromaniam added that the department conducted two raids and seized

16 containers and 48,000 crates of beer and liquor worth over RM26mil.

He said a team of enforcement officers found 14 containers with beer and liquor at a yard at PTP with no import licence on April 17.

Three days later, the team raided two warehouses at PTP and seized more crates of beer and liquor, also without an import licence. Two lorry drivers were arrested.

“So, you can imagine our successes nationwide. We do not have a definite figure as operations are ongoing,” he said, adding that local and international syndicates were involved and arrests would be made soon.

Subromaniam believed that the use of free zones for smuggling activities had been going on for some time.

He said the new ruling requiring import licences would not hinder genuine businesses.

“We have given them one month to apply for import permits,” he said, adding that the ports had also agreed to work with the department to verify such goods at the free zones.