The Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday fined a 45-year-old Bruneian man BND50,160 for possessing smuggled cigarettes, with a default sentence of 15 months’ imprisonment if he fails to pay.
The Customs prosecutor revealed that Mohammad Sufri bin Suhaili was caught with 35 cartons and 152 packets of various cigarette brands at his home in Kampong Sungai Lalit, Lumut, during a joint operation by Royal Customs and Excise Department (RCED) enforcement officers and the Narcotics Control Bureau on July 25, 2022. Appearing before Magistrate Abdul ‘Azim bin Othman, Mohammad Sufri pleaded guilty to the charge under Section 146(1)(d) of the Excise Order, 2006 for possession of duty-unpaid cigarettes.
The court also ordered the seized cigarettes to be confiscated for destruction and the BND30 obtained from cigarette sales to be forfeited to the government. – Fadley Faisal
