BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- A 26-year-old man was detained by the police for allegedly smuggling 747 cartons of cigarettes in Brunei, local media reported on Wednesday.
According to the local daily Borneo Bulletin, Royal Brunei Police Force inspected two suspicious vehicles without a driver in a routine patrol at Kampong Kuala Lurah, one of the areas close to the country's border with Malaysia.
The police later found an individual believed to be the driver and owner of one of the vehicles and discovered large boxes containing 747 cartons of cigarettes in the vehicles.
Brunei ratified the World Health Organization Framework Convention for Tobacco Control in 2004, which is designed to reduce the devastating health and economic impact of cigarette smoking.
According to Brunei laws, tobacco-producing and selling are strictly forbidden in the country and heavy duties are imposed on imported cigarettes and those who are convicted of tobacco smuggling will face huge fines or imprisonment.
In February 2020, a 24-year-old local man was sentenced to pay a 298,000 Brunei dollars fine (223,932 U.S. dollars) or serve 27 months imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to possessing 152 cartons and eight packs of smuggled cigarettes. ■