Two men abandoned a car loaded with subsidised cooking oil before fleeing into Thailand via a river crossing at an illegal jetty in Kampung Simpangan on Sunday.
Briged Tenggara General Operations Force (GOF) commander Senior Assistant Commissioner Ahmad Radzi Hussain said the incident occurred at about 8.30am during an Op Taring Wawasan enforcement operation.
He said officers from GOF Battalion 8 Pengkalan Chepa were conducting a raid when they spotted two men transferring several boxes from a Perodua Kancil into a boat at the illegal crossing point.
Upon realising the presence of enforcement officers, the suspects jumped into the boat and escaped across the Golok River into Thailand.
Checks on the abandoned vehicle revealed a large quantity of cooking oil believed to be intended for smuggling across the border.
Authorities seized 408 kilogrammes of subsidised cooking oil during the operation.
The Perodua Kancil used in the activity was also confiscated for further investigation.
Officials estimated the total value of seized items, including the vehicle, at around RM6,020.
Initial investigations suggest the cooking oil was sourced from the Kota Bharu and Tumpat areas before being smuggled towards Thailand.
The case has been handed over to the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry (KPDN) in Kota Bharu for further action under the Control of Supplies Act 1961.
