Feeling the pinch of that extra RM1 per pack of cigarettes? Probably not as much as several retailers across the country, who were the target of a nationwide Customs Department crackdown on illegal cigarettes.
Ops Outlet, instigated by the Customs Department netted busts of errant retailers in Malacca, Butterworth and Kota Baru, in an effort to stem the estimated RM2 billion loss of revenue from dodged taxes.
Illegal cigarettes smuggled into the country are sold between RM3.50 and RM5 pack, well below the mandated retail price, according to The Star Online.
Since the start of Ops Outlet on March 5, about 1,000 retailers have been hauled up, with half of that number brought up on charges in court.
Yesterday, an Alor Setar man was fined RM50,000 by a magistrate’s court for being in possession of 72,360 sticks of illegal cigarettes, while another retailer in Penang was jailed for a day and fined RM2,400 for possessing 2,080 sticks of illegal cigarettes.
Under the law, those caught selling smuggled cigarettes can jailed for up to three years, fined up to 20 times the value of the contraband seized, or both.
Repeat offenders face up to five years in jail, a fine of up to 40 times the value of the contraband seized, or both.
