5 Bangladeshis among busted contraband beer distribution syndicate in Malaysia

Malaysian police have crippled a contraband beer distribution ring with the arrest of eight men, five of them Bangladeshis, and the seizure of illicit beverage and other items worth more than RM one million.

Central Brigade General Operations Force (GOF) commander Senior Assistant Commander Muhammad Abdul Halim said the syndicate's activities were detected when they raided a warehouse at Jalan Sellathevan in Kampung Sungai Kandis, Klang, on Wednesday, reports The Star.

A team from the Central Brigade GOF intelligence division raided the premises and arrested three local men and five Bangladeshi men aged between 25 and 57.

"When we raided the warehouse, the men were in the midst of loading beer onto lorries.

"We found 40,320 cans and 5,400 bottles of suspected contraband beer equivalent to 19,809 litres of the beverage," he said at the Shah Alam police headquarters yesterday.

They also seized three lorries, a van and a car in the raid, with the total seizure estimated at RM 1.65 million.

Investigations revealed that the syndicate had been active for a while and distributed beer within the Klang Valley.

"They used the warehouse to store the beer before distributing it to buyers," he said.

SAC Muhammad said the eight suspects had been remanded for 14 days.

"We are now investigating the syndicate's network, including its clients and other members who are still at large.

"We will work together with the Shah Alam CID team to bring down the syndicate and combat such activities," he said.

The case is being investigated under the Customs Act.