PUTRAJAYA: Six men, including three foreigners, believed to be part of a subsidised cooking oil embezzlement syndicate, were arrested during an Op Tiris raid at two premises located at the Sg Lalang industrial area in Sg Petani, Kedah on Sunday.
Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) director-general Datuk Azman Adam said 31,000 litres of subsidised diesel worth RM579,050said was seized from the two locations that were used for storage and transferring of fuel.
He said today that at the first location, 3,000 litres of diesel worth RM34,450 was found in a tank but the premises was deserted.
The six individuals, aged between 24 and 49, were arrested at the second location while they were busy transferring diesel from a lorry into a tank, amounting to 28,000 litres and worth RM544,600, he said.
“The syndicate’s modus operandi is to use tankers carrying chemicals to obscure the authorities and the public,” said Azman.
Besides diesel, equipment such as motorised pumps, connecting hoses, flow meters, as well as business documents of receipts and record books were also seized for further investigation, he said.
The case is being investigated under the Supply Control Act (AKB) 1961 to identify the individuals or companies involved as well as the diesel re-distribution chain, including the source of the diesel.
Azman said based on the enforcement statistics of Ops Tiris from March 1 to April 9 this year, a total of 4,054 inspections were carried out and 1.60 million litres of subsidised diesel worth RM3.56 million was seized. - Bernama