KOTA BHARU, July 29 — The General Operations Force (GOF) detained six men and seized 360 tonnes of iron ore, five vehicles and an excavator worth a total of RM2.98 million during Ops Bersepadu Khazanah at a mining site in Mukim Kuala Nal, Kuala Krai, yesterday.
GOF Southeast Brigade commander SAC Ahmad Radzi Hussain said the raid was carried out at 1 pm by intelligence personnel from the GOF 8th Battalion in Pengkalan Chepa in collaboration with the Kelantan Land and Mines Office (PTG).
He said inspections at the site found an excavator loading iron ore onto four mototrailers.
“Six men aged between 31 and 63, comprising a site caretaker, an excavator operator and four mototrailer drivers, were detained to assist in the investigation.
“Checks found that the company holds a valid mining licence. However, further inspection by the PTG confirmed that mining activities were being carried out beyond the area approved under the licence conditions,” he said in a statement last night.
Ahmad Radzi said all the suspects and the seized items had been handed over to the Kelantan Land and Mines Office for further action under Section 158 of the Mineral Enactment 2001.
“All the suspects admitted they were working under the supervision of a supervisor responsible for managing operations at the mine. Investigations also found that the iron ore extracted is believed to have been transported to a processing plant in Kuantan, Pahang,” he said.
He added that the GOF would continue intelligence gathering and monitoring operations to detect breaches of licence conditions and curb illegal mining activities in Kelantan. — Bernama
