A group of smugglers in Sabah were caught red-handed trying to smuggle pork from Hong Kong worth RM300,000 disguised as French fries.
This unusual and hilarious contraband was intercepted by authorities at the east coast port of Tawau yesterday, reported Malay Mail.
Tried to smuggle pork disguised as French fries
According to Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan, the smugglers had falsely declared the consignment, which had arrived from Hong Kong via the Tawau port.
He said the Customs department grew suspicious after reviewing the manifest which claimed it contained potato French fries.
“They became suspicious after scanning the container and made a closer physical inspection where they saw that the container contained both pork and French fries,” he said.
Although Maslan did not reveal how much the pork weighed, he said its value was around RM300,000 and could have been levied duty charges of RM65,700.
The case is currently being investigated under Section 135(1)(a) of the Customs Act 1967, for importing uncustomed and prohibited goods.
More scanners needed
Meanwhile, Maslan said the government plans to purchase more scanners to be placed at various port points in Sabah where trade volume is high.
He pointed out that the cost of each scanner is approximately RM20 million, making it an expensive investment compared to the RM500,000 per unit cost of airport baggage scanners.
At present, only three ports in Sabah are furnished with these scanners.
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