55 held in ewaste crackdown

Raided spots: Comm Hasbullah (left) leading a press conference in Kuala Lumpur. — RAJA FAISAL HISHAN/The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: A businessman with the title “Datuk” is among 55 individuals detained following raids on seven illegal ewaste factories in four states.

The Datuk, who is a Malaysian, along with nine other locals and 45 foreigners aged between 30 and 50, were nabbed in raids conducted in Pahang, Johor, Selangor and Negri Sembilan on Aug 5.

More than RM40mil in assets were also seized in the operation.

IGP secretariat’s Anti-Money Laundering (Amla) division head Comm Datuk Muhammed Hasbullah Ali said in Pahang, the factories were located in Pekan and Muadzam Shah, while the factories in Johor were in Simpang Renggam.

Meanwhile in Selangor, the factories were located in Rawang and Hulu Selangor. In Negri Sembilan, the factories were in Rembau and Gemencheh.

“We conducted the raids following information supplied by the public and based on our intelligence gathering.

“In Pahang, the police received information on the illegal factories from Tengku Mahkota Pahang Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.

“Initial investigation revealed that the factories had been operating since last year, processing ewaste by burning and causing air pollution.

“The activity can also cause harm to residents in the surrounding areas due to its hazardous fumes,” Comm Hasbullah told a press conference yesterday.

The factories, which operated without any licence, imported the ewaste from various Asian countries, he said.

“The ewaste will be processed into metal blocks that will then be sold overseas for millions of ringgit. The factory operators also employed foreign workers without proper permits,” he added.

The locals detained have been remanded between five and seven days while the foreigners were remanded for 14 days, he said.

“We are still tracking down several individuals believed to be owners of the factories.

“We also seized various assets including metal blocks, ewaste pallets, vehicles and machinery worth RM43.1mil,” he added.

Comm Hasbullah said various plots of land, which were used for the factory sites, have also been seized.

“A total of 19 officers and 55 division personnel along with 110 officers and personnel from the General Operations Force were involved in the operation.

“The locals detained were land owners, while the foreigners nabbed consisted of technicians and experts in ewaste processing,” he said.