GOF score big with 297-tonne seizure of smuggled white rice
MIRI: The General Operations Force ( GOF) here scored its largest bust when it seized nearly 300 tonnes of smuggled white rice during an operation last week.
GOF Battalion 12 commanding officer Supt Tan Hiap Seng said the operation took place at a warehouse after more than three weeks of intelligence gathering.
“After gathering enough information, the raiding team carried out the ambush on Dec 1 around 8am.
“Upon checking, we found 5,856 gunny sacks weighing 50kg each and 450 packs of 10kg rice worth RM623,880.
“The total weight of the seized rice was 297.3 tonnes,” he said yesterday during a follow-up inspection of the said warehouse in Piasau Industrial Estate.
He added that a 30-year-old man, believed to be the owner of the warehouse, was arrested during the raid.
According to Tan, the rice was smuggled via sea from Vietnam and Thailand in sacks printed with ‘ Beras Nasional’, to avoid detection by authorities.
“Each month, they smuggle 200 tonnes of rice here before repackaging them into 5kg and 10kg packs to be distributed to local markets,” he said, adding the raid at the warehouse was the second in two years.
The case is being investigated under Section 9(2)(a) of the Control of Paddy and Rice Act 1994.