PETALING JAYA: At least RM1.6mil worth of illicit cigarettes and beer has been seized following two separate operations by the Customs Department at North Port, Klang.

Customs Central Zone assistant director-general Norlela Ismail said the first operation was conducted on March 21.

"Based on intelligence gathered by our officers, we checked a shipping container at around 9.15pm at North Port.

"Our scans of the container displayed images that were not consistent with towels which were declared," she told reporters on Tuesday (April 23).

She said when they opened the container, they did find towels initially but as they went deeper into the container they found cartons of illicit beer inside.

"We found 4,030 litres of beer worth RM21,000 with RM51,610 in unpaid duties," she said, adding that the container originated from a South-East Asian country.

She said they called a shipping representative to help with further investigations into the case.

Meanwhile, Norlela said her personnel managed to detect another container at North Port with questionable contents on April 2.

"We checked a 40-foot container which was declared to be carrying lawn lamps. We removed the lawn lamps and found 864,000 cigarette sticks hidden inside them," she said.

She said the cigarettes are believed to have come from a neighbouring country.

"The cigarettes are worth over RM1.52mil including unpaid duties.

"We are now trying to identify the import agent and company involved to assist with further investigations," she said.