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KLANG – A total of 10 men, including six foreign nationals, were detained by the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry last night for suspected involvement in subsidised diesel smuggling.
Selangor Consumer Affairs Ministry director Mohd Zuhairi Mat Radey said the suspects were detained based on intelligence gathered on an industrial building in Bandar Bukit Raja here in the three weeks after suspicious vehicles were spotted entering and exiting the building.
“An operation was conducted at 10pm. The suspects were aged between 17 to their 50s, including four locals who worked as lorry drivers and six Myanmar nationals acting as caretakers of the site,” he said at a media conference at the location of the raid today.
“Our intelligence revealed that the syndicate has been conducting subsidised diesel smuggling activities for the past three months in areas not usually associated with such crimes,” he added.
Diesel worth RM97,200 was seized, along with three lorries, six intermediate bulk containers, two skid tanks filled with diesel, and fuel syphoning equipment.
The case is being investigated under the Control of Supplies Act 1961, he added.
Meanwhile, police in Melaka seized 35,970 litres of diesel and arrested three men, 32 to 50, in a raid at around 4pm in the Krubong Industrial Area yesterday.
Melaka Tengah district police chief Christopher Patit said RM26,000 in cash, two lorries, three tanks, four fuel pumps, and five hoses were also seized in the raid.
“We conducted surveillance and intelligence gathering for two weeks before launching the raid,” he said at a media conference today.
He said the subsidised diesel was sold lower than the market price of RM2.15 per litre before it was resold to industrial clients at RM3.50 to RM4 a litre.
The three store caretakers will be handed over to the Consumer Affairs Ministry for prosecution under the Control of Supplies Act 1961. – Bernama, September 2, 2022