JOHOR BARU: A 63-year-old man has been stashing RM1.12mil worth of illicit alcoholic beverages and liquor behind a sundry shop in Taman Daya here.
To avoid being detected by authorities, he had been selling the illegal contraband only to regular customers.
However, a 12.15am raid at his shop by the police yesterday blew his cover.
Johor police chief Comm Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat (pic) said the man had been arrested along with his 30-year-old foreign worker.
“We found 24 bottles of liquor and 1,274 cartons of beer of various brands in a store located about 100m from the sundry shop.
“To avoid getting caught, the man only sold the smuggled alcohol to regular customers. We believe that the duo has been carrying out the activities for a few months,” he told reporters at the Marine Police Region II headquarters here yesterday.
The two suspects, he added, would be remanded for four days until Thursday.
In another development, Comm Kamarul said police also foiled three attempts to smuggle subsidised diesel in Kulai, Iskandar Puteri and Batu Pahat districts.
Fifteen individuals, including a woman, were arrested during the raids between Thursday and yesterday morning.
“Checks on the suspects aged between 28 and 53 found two of them with previous records related to drugs and crime.
“We also seized 117,600 litres of diesel worth about RM191,240, over a dozen lorries, 18 petrol tanks, six petrol pumps, and a hose,” he said, adding that the items were worth a total of RM1.5mil.
Investigations are being carried out under Section 135(1)(d) and Section 35(1)(c) of the Customs Act 1967 and Section 21 of the Supply Control Act 1961.
In a separate matter, Comm Kamarul said police were still waiting for medical reports with regard to the alleged abuse case involving a six-year-old child with autism.
“We are still waiting for a medical report from a specialist on the bruises found on the child.
“At the moment, it is unclear whether the bruises came from an external force or the boy himself.
“The medical report is crucial for further investigation and we expect to get this as soon as possible.
“For now, we have recorded statements from all those involved,” he said.
On Friday, police confirmed that they were investigating a complaint by a woman who claimed that her son was abused by an instructor at a therapy centre in Skudai, as it went viral on social media.