Tanah Merah:The General Operations Force (GOF) seized 15,000 robusta coffee seedlings and a lorry, with a combined value of RM1 million, during a roadblock at Lalang Pepuyu last night.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, GOF Southeast Brigade commander SAC Ahmad Radzi Hussain reported that a 27-year-old man driving the lorry was detained at 11.30 pm during the operation.

An inspection of the lorry revealed 15,000 robusta coffee seedlings believed to have been smuggled from Thailand. The seized items were valued at RM1 million, with the lorry worth RM250,000 and the coffee seedlings worth RM750,000.

Preliminary investigations indicated that the driver collected the seedlings from an illegal jetty in the Lalang Pepuyu area to transport them to a nursery in Johor for a fee of RM300 per delivery. The seedlings were handed over to the Kota Bharu Agriculture Department due to suspicions that they contained pests.

Ahmad Radzi stated that the seedlings would undergo inspection before potential disposal, and a compound might be issued if pest-related offences were confirmed. The case is being investigated under the Plant Quarantine Act 1976 (Act 167).