MAN HELD, ORNAMENTAL PLANTS WORTH RM2.01 MILLION SEIZED

KOTA BHARU, Nov 11 (Bernama) -- A man was arrested on suspicion of smuggling various types of orchids and bromeliads, estimated to be worth RM2.01 million, during the Op Taring Wawasan operation conducted on Saturday.

General Operations Force (GOF) Southeast Brigade commander Datuk Nik Ros Azhan Ab Hamid said the ornamental plants were believed to have been smuggled from Thailand, and were discovered in Kampung Lubok Stol, Pasir Mas.

At 9.45 pm on Saturday, the GOF team intercepted a driver who was driving a lorry in a suspicious manner. Upon inspection, it was found that the plants had been brought into the country without valid documentation.

“The driver, a 35-year-old local man, is believed to have been transporting the plants for the local market,” he said.

“The case is being investigated under Section 5 of the Plant Quarantine Act 1976 (Act 167), and the seized items were taken to the Rantau Panjang police station for further action,” he said in a statement, today.

He added that, on the same day, the GOF also dismantled a smuggling operation involving various ornamental plants, including the Citharexylum Spinosum and Juniperus Chinensis species, believed to have been smuggled from Thailand, in Kampung Kubang Rambutan, Rantau Panjang.

Nik Ros Azhan explained that at about 8 pm, the team intercepted a lorry driven by a 32-year-old local man.

“Upon inspection, various types of ornamental plants, estimated to be worth RM510,000, were found to have been brought into the country without valid documentation for the local market,” he said.

The case is being investigated under Section 5 of Act 167, and the suspect, along with the seized items, were taken to the Rantau Panjang police station for further action, he added.

He also stressed that the GOF will continue to intensify efforts to prevent smuggling activities from spreading at the country’s borders.

-- BERNAMA