Sex toys, porn materials among goods smuggled from Thailand

KOTA BARU: Sex toys, pornographic materials including illegal medication to boost libido, are among the new smuggling items detected by the state customs preventative division here.

The items which are mostly manufactured in China and brought in illegally via Thailand have contributed to a marginal rise in smuggling trends for the first five months of this year compared to the same period last year.

Smuggling continues to be a thorn in the side for the custom authorities here due to the porous border.

Despite border fencing, intelligence gathering, boosting security presence and offering rewards, the state customs has detected a marginal rise in smuggling cases which has also grown in sopistication due to fraud in declaration of goods and the use of new tactics.

The usual items smuggled either across or into the Kelantan territory, are rice, diesel, sugar, exotic animals, tobacco and liquor.

For the period January till June 19, the state customs preventative division recorded 500 cases with items seized valued at RM883,922.43.

On Tuesday, the custom authorities here destroyed most of the items seized including the sex paraphernalia following a court order.

State customs and excise department director Datuk Che Jamil Ahmad said public cooperation was vital in curbing smuggling.

"Border inhabitants must also be instilled with a spirit of patriotism as they must realise if they condone smuggling of cheaper goods, Malaysia's own products are affected.

"They must also be aware that some smuggled goods are a threat to public health."

This included smuggled tobacco and liquor as they may not have been approved or tested by the relevant authorities, Che Jamil said.


Source: The Star Online