Malaysia authorities seize 20 tonnes of fireworks, firecrackers

January 3, 2019 editor Crime, Fireworks, Malaysia, Perak

IPOH: Twenty tonnes of fireworks and firecrackers have been confiscated in the Malaysian state of Perak in what’s believed to be the biggest such seizure by the customs department there in 2018.

An enforcement squad seized the items from a double-storey house in the town of Lahat on Dec 27. A 37-year-old man was arrested, said the Perak Royal Customs Department on Wednesday (Jan 2).

The man had stored 640 boxes of various types of firecrackers and fireworks on the ground floor of the building.

According to Customs assistant director-general Azimah Abd Hamid, the firecrackers and fireworks, believed to have been smuggled from China, have a market value of about RM3 million (US$724,460).

Azimah added that last year, Customs made 93 arrests and seized 170,168 litres of liquor valued at RM1.15 million, on which the duty was estimated at RM3.9 million.

Customs also seized about 18.2 million cigarettes valued at RM1.34 million, on which the duty was about RM11.5 million.

Source: ChannelNewsAsia