THE Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has thwarted an attempt to smuggle 4.8 million sticks of clove cigarettes of various brands, with a value of RM3.3 million, in the waters of Tanjung Gabang, Selangor, during an operation dubbed Ops Khas Pagar Laut on Tuesday.
Its acting director-general, Rear Admiral (M) Saiful Lizan Ibrahim, said the cigarette smuggling syndicate used a fishing boat, believed to be from Indonesia, which was detected as a result of intelligence and assistance from the Malaysian Maritime Surveillance System at about 10.20pm.