A 42-year-old Bruneian man, Mohammad Ali bin Sulaiman, has been fined BND10,000, or face 10 months in jail in default of fine payment for possessing contraband cigarettes.
The case, brought before Acting Senior Magistrate Dewi Norlelawati binti Haji Abdul Hamid in the Kuala Belait Magistrate’s Court on December 16, involved charges under Section 146(1)(d) of the Excise Order 2006 for the possession of prohibited goods, which the defendant pleaded guilty to.
The Customs prosecutor revealed that enforcement officers from Kuala Belait arrested the defendant on October 5, 2023, at 11.55am during a raid at a house in RPN Kampong Lumut. The operation led to the seizure of 11 cartons and 15 packets of cigarettes of various brands.
The contraband which had been confiscated, were ordered by the court to be destroyed. – Fadley Faisal
