BENTONG: The police detained two men and seized various brands of contraband cigarettes worth RM3.3 million at KM55.2 of the Karak Highway here last Saturday.
Pahang deputy police chief Datuk Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri said police were tipped off about the contraband cigarettes and following that, a team from Bukit Aman’s Special Operations Command stopped a five-tonne lorry and detained the 43-year-old driver at 4.20 am.
He said, shortly after that, a man driving a Toyota Corolla car came and introduced himself as the lorry driver’s friend.
Upon checking the lorry, police discovered 333 big boxes containing cigarettes with brands like Touro International, Wismilak Diplomaf dan Luffman Premium Blend 22.
“Both the local men were arrested and initial investigations revealed that the lorry driver was paid RM1,500 to ferry the smuggled cigarettes to Kuala Lumpur.
“The suspects claimed to have taken the lorry in Kemaman, Terengganu which was left at a row of shophouses with the keys placed on one of the tyres before driving it to Kuala Lumpur.
“We are now in the process of identifying the lorry owner,” he told a press conference at the Bentong district police headquarters here.
Also present was Bentong district police chief Supt Zaiham Mohd Kahar.
Elaborating further, Mohd Yusri said both suspects who have been remanded for four days beginning Nov 20, were first offenders and a urine test conducted on both men proved negative.
-Bernama