The Magistrate’s Court fined a 49-year-old local man BND 5,000 on Thursday after pleading guilty to possession of smuggled cigarettes.
Mohamad Yusdi Sofiedon bin Mohamad Yusof admitted to the offence before Acting Senior Magistrate Dewi Norlelawati binti Haji Abdul Hamid. The defendant faces five months’ imprisonment in default of payment.
The prosecution revealed that customs enforcement officers from the Belait branch, acting on intelligence, conducted a search at the Panaga Small Power Station’s security post on September 5, 2023. The raid uncovered four cartons and 18 sticks of various cigarette brands, which the defendant could not produce valid documentation for.
The court ordered the confiscated cigarettes to be destroyed. – Fadley Faisal
