Penang KPDN dismantles a diesel smuggling syndicate, seizing over RM300,000 worth of fuel from an illegal storage facility in Butterworth.
BUKIT MERTAJAM: The Penang branch of the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) has dismantled a syndicate involved in the misappropriation of subsidised diesel, seizing fuel worth RM327,963.80 in a raid on an unauthorised storage facility in Sungai Lokan, Butterworth.
Director S. Jegan said that following a month of intelligence gathering, officers raided the facility and found diesel being transferred between two tanker lorries.
“During the raid, an 18,000-litre tanker was transferring diesel into a 23,000-litre tanker, and further inspection revealed that the premises failed to produce the necessary documents, licences, or permits to possess and manage scheduled controlled goods,” he told a press conference.
He explained that the syndicate’s modus operandi involved using the 18,000-litre tanker as a mobile storage unit to collect diesel from several smaller lorries that purchased fuel in limited quantities from petrol stations statewide.
KPDN seized the two tanker lorries, equipment such as hoses and pumps, business documents, and 21,190 litres of diesel during the operation.
Jegan said the syndicate was believed to accumulate diesel gradually, with members purchasing fuel at petrol stations before price changes took effect, particularly on Wednesdays.
He added that the fuel was subsequently moved to other tankers and was believed to be transported out of Penang to be sold to industrial users at a lower cost than the market price.
Two Myanmar men in their 20s, who were working at the illegal storage facility, were also detained during the raid.
Further investigations are ongoing to trace the syndicate’s mastermind and its network, according to Jegan.
In a separate operation in Lahad Datu, KPDN detained two men and seized 1,000 litres of diesel along with two four-wheel-drive vehicles, with a total value estimated at RM117,150.
Lahad Datu KPDN Enforcement chief Azizul Amran said the arrests and seizures were carried out under Ops Tiris 4.0 at a petrol station in the district after officers found the local men filling diesel into drums loaded onto their vehicles without the necessary documents.
No offences were detected during a joint inspection of several petrol stations by the ministry and the police in Beaufort.
