Jenjarom: The General Operations Force (GOF) busted a syndicate using courier services to distribute contraband cigarettes, with seizures worth over RM300,000 in Jenjarom, Selangor, last Friday.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, GOF Battalion 4 commanding officer Supt Amanjit Singh stated that the raid, under Op Taring Alpha 1, was executed at 6.30 pm by officers from the Semenyih Battalion 4 Intelligence Branch, with assistance from the Kuala Langat District Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

The operation took place at workers' quarters in a lorry workshop compound in Kampung Sungai Rambai, where police apprehended a local man suspected to be the caretaker and booking manager of the operation. Initial investigations indicated that the syndicate had been operational for the past four months, utilizing the rented house as a storage facility to evade detection by the authorities.

The syndicate's modus operandi involved distributing cigarettes from 8 am to buyers, primarily targeting foreign-owned grocery store operators in the Jenjarom area. The group cleverly employed courier companies to deliver the contraband to customers, thereby avoiding detection.

Background checks revealed that the same syndicate network had previously been disrupted by GOF Battalion 4 in Bukit Raja last March. In the recent raid, the team confiscated 805 cartons of untaxed cigarettes and a mobile phone, with the total value of seized items amounting to RM304,893.50.

The suspect and the confiscated items have been transported to the Kuala Langat District Police Headquarters for further investigation under the Customs Act 1967.