KUCHING: Smuggling syndicates trying their luck along uncharted backroads in Lundu and Bau hit a dead end after the General Operations Force (GOF) thwarted three attempts in just one week, seizing over RM939,000 worth of controlled goods.
Sarawak GOF Brigade commander SAC Lim Bak Phai said the operations, mounted by the 11th Battalion under Ops Taring Awas/Batas, took place between Sept 7 and 14.
“The first operation on Sept 7 in Lundu saw two men, aged 32 and 45, nabbed while ferrying 640 sacks of red onions in two lorries. The seizure, including the vehicles, was valued at RM376,800.
“A day later, another team detained two men aged 22 and 49 with two lorries stuffed with 9,000kg of red onions and 8,500kg of rice in Bau. The haul, together with the vehicles, were worth around RM412,000,” he said.
On Sept 14, the GOF 11th Battalion caught a 42-year-old man in Bau after he was found transporting 3,506kg of subsidised cooking oil without valid documents in a lorry.
The total seizure value, including the lorry, amounted to RM150,518.
Lim said the suspects, goods and vehicles have been handed over to the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) Sarawak for further actions.
The cases are being probed under Section 21 of the Control of Supplies Act 1961 and the Control of Paddy and Rice Act 1994.
