Selangor Journal
Selangor Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry (KPDNHEP) director Mohd Zuhairi Mat Radey (second from right) and personnel looking at the equipment confiscated from a diesel smuggling syndicate, at Bandar Bukit Raja in Klang, on September 2, 2022. — Picture by BERNAMA

Ten men held for involvement in subsidised diesel smuggling in Selangor

KLANG, Sept 2 — A total of 10 men, including six foreign nationals, have been detained by the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry (KPDNHEP) last night for suspected involvement in subsidised diesel smuggling.

Selangor KPDNHEP director Mohd Zuhairi Mat Radey said the suspects were detained based on intelligence gathered on an industrial building in Bandar Bukit Raja here three weeks after vehicles were spotted entering and exiting the building in a suspicious manner.

“An operation was conducted at 10pm and the suspects, 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 and we feel this is their tactics to evade detection,” Mohd Zuhairi added.

Diesel worth RM97,200 was seized, along with three lorries, six intermediate bulk containers (IBC), two skid tanks filled with diesel, and fuel siphoning equipment.

The case is being investigated under the Control of Supplies Act 1961, he said.

Meanwhile, police in Melaka seized 35,970 litres of diesel and arrested three men aged 32 to 50 in a raid at around 4pm in the Krubong Industrial Area yesterday.

Melaka Tengah district police chief ACP 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.

Patit 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 would be handed over to the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry (KPDNHEP) for prosecution under the Control of Supplies Act 1961.

— Bernama

 

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