SERDANG, Dec 23 — Police seized 10 logs of agarwood and other related products, with an estimated worth of RM2 million in a raid on three shop lots at Taman Puncak Jalil, Seri Kembangan yesterday.
Serdang District Police chief Assistant Commissioner Razali Abu Samah said three people, the owner and caretaker of the premises, and a foreign married couple, all aged 30 to 58, were detained in the 8.30am raid.
“Besides figurines and agarwood logs, the police also seized 16 sacks of agarwood dust weighing an estimated 100 kilogrammes each, 37 bottles of processed agarwood liquid and 10 pieces of agarwood bark,” he told reporters at the location of the raid yesterday.
Razali said early investigations revealed the purchase and processing of agarwood for perfumes, figurines and incense at the premises had been going on since 2018 and the illegal activities were finally exposed after the police received four reports last October and November.
Based on those reports, Razali said the timber was believed to have been logged and stolen from the forest at the Sultan Idris Shah Forest Education Centre (SISFEC), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) in the Ayer Hitam forest reserve, Puchong although the suspects bought them in Pahang.
He said early investigations found the owner of the premises did not possess any legal business licence and only registered his business with the Companies Commission of Malaysia to produce swiftlet vinegar for use in the swiftlet nest industry.
The case will be investigated under Section 84(1) of the National Forestry Act 1984.
— Bernama
