No joint Thai-Malaysian joint customs checkpoint

SONGKHLA: -- Malaysia has announced it will not invest in a joint customs checkpoint in the Thai border district of Sadao to prevent cross border smuggling, according to the Deputy Finance Minister, Varathep Ratanakorn.

Thailand and Malaysia agreed several years ago to establish a joint customs checkpoint in Sadao, but Kuala Lumpur has now decided it cannot participate in the project because of several problems, including the expropriation of land on its side of the border, Mr. Varathep told TNA on Sunday.

This will not prevent Malaysia’s continued cooperation with Thailand in other fields, including combating the smuggling of oil from Malaysia to Thailand, the minister said.

The smuggling of oil and other goods has been successfully curbed over the past few months, he added.

The value of imports passing through the Sadao customs checkpoint between October 2004 and May 2005 was more than 36,000 million baht and the value of exports nearly 62,000 million baht.

Mr. Varathep made his remarks after meeting customs officials in the South.

He said he planned to visit all the customs checkpoints within the next six months and would try to improve their operations, including updating their equipment.

--TNA 2005-06-13

Have seen some Thais in uniform, filling up their trucks and extra containers at the border fuel stations. wonder are they considered smuggling and are they being checked at all when they cross the border.