RANTAU PANJANG: A lorry driver was detained and RM78,180 in cash seized by the Malaysia Border Control and Protection Agency (MCBA) at the Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security (ICQS) Complex last night.
Rantau Panjang MCBA deputy commander Bakri Sulaiman said the 35-year-old local man was stopped by two MCBA officers when he passed through the checkpoint at about 9.50pm.
“Two MCBA officers were conducting random checks on vehicles entering from the neighbouring country through the ICQS complex.
“During the inspection, they found a small green plastic bag near the co-driver’s seat of the lorry.
“Upon checking the bag, the officers discovered RM78,180 in cash in various notes inside it.
“They then detained the driver,” he told reporters here today.
Bakri said the driver was detained after he failed to declare the cash but was released on bail today.
He added the case has been handed over to the Kelantan Customs Department for further investigation under Section 135(a) of the Customs Act 1967.
Travellers are required to declare cash amounts exceeding USD10,000, or its equivalent of about RM42,000, when entering or leaving a country, as part of international anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations.
He said the seizure was the first case recorded by the Rantau Panjang GOF this year.
It is understood that the money belonged to the driver’s employer, a trader based in Sungai Golok, Thailand.
The cash was reportedly proceeds from the employer’s retail business, and the driver was said to make daily trips through the ICQS complex to bring the sales proceeds into Rantau Panjang.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
