IPOH: Over 5,509 litres of subsidised diesel was seized by the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry at an illegal store in Hutan Melintang, near Bagan Datuk.
Its Perak director, Datuk Kamalludin Ismail, said two local men were also arrested in the raid.
He said a 53-year-old local man claimed he was the owner of the store, and when asked for a permit, he failed to produce any licence allowing him to store the controlled goods.
The raid, Kamalludin said, was conducted at Kampung Melayu Jenderata on Tuesday (Oct 22) at about 12.18pm.
“The operation was based on information received from the public and intelligence carried out by the enforcement team from Teluk Intan for a week.
“Based on information from the intelligence sources, the team successfully detected a tanker truck entering the suspected premises to transfer liquid believed to be diesel into the skid tank.
“Acting on the information, the team raided the premises, and managed to arrest two local men, the lorry driver and the owner of the premises,” he said in a statement issued Wednesday (Oct 23).
Kamalludin said when the inspection was carried out, the team first found 50l of liquid suspected to be diesel in a drum, and 5,500l of liquid suspected to be diesel in a skid tank at the premises of the illegal store.
He said the skid tank, oil drum, oil pump, a four-wheel drive, and tanker worth over RM280,000 were confiscated.
“The case will be investigated under the Control of Supplies Act 1961, and Control of Supplies Regulations 1974.
“The ministry is issuing a stern warning to any parties involved with misappropriating controlled goods.
"We will not compromise with any parties found to be involved in activities or syndicates involved in the crime,” he added.
Anyone with information on such activities can report to the ministry through WhatsApp at 019-848 8000, its portal at http://eaduan.kpdn.gov.my, the call centre at 1-800-866-800, or its mobile app, "EzAdu KPDN".
