SEREMBAN: The Customs department smashed a syndicate involved in the illegal processing and bottling of alcoholic beverages, following a raid on a factory in Kuala Sawah, Rantau, near here.
Customs director-general Abdul Latif Abdul Kadir said that after receiving a tip off and carrying out surveillance, a team from the Central Zone Enforcement Division raided the factory, suspected to be manufacturing fake booze of various brands last Tuesday.
“During the raid, eight workers fled when they detected the presence of Customs personnel through several closed circuit cameras installed in the plant.
“We believe this privately-owned brewery on a three or four-acre site has been in operation for just two or three months and fake alcoholic beverages are being processed here,” he told reporters at a press conference here today.
He said investigations were still ongoing to track down the syndicate’s masterminds.
Abdul Latif said the quantity of illegal brew seized was estimated at 59,104 litres worth RM344,644 with unpaid duties of RM1.952 million. The total seizure was worth RM3.12 million.
He said among items seized were several brewery plant equipment, fermentation tanks, labeling and trademark printing machines as well as laboratory equipment worth RM1 million.
The syndicate is believed to have brought in the equipment from abroad.
“To avoid detection by the authorities, the syndicate operates from a warehouse in a remote area,” he said adding that the fake alcoholic products, carrying a German brand, were targeted at foreigners and were sold at below the actual market price. - FMT
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