E-waste haul: Some of the items seized following the raids in Johor and Selangor.
Factories were processing prohibited raw materials
KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 16 individuals, including company owners and expatriates, were detained for allegedly bribing enforcement officers in connection with illegal e-waste processing activities following raids on 12 illegal factories in Johor and Selangor.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) deputy chief commissioner Datuk Seri Ahmad Khusairi Yahaya said the arrests were made in a joint operation with the Immigration Department and Department of Environment (DOE) at 10 factories in Segamat, Johor, and two factories in Telok Panglima Garang, Selangor, on Monday.
“The premises are believed to be processing and disposing prohibited raw materials such as metal, glass and plastic.
“The suspects were detained in Selangor and Johor between 9.30am and 12pm in a special operation codenamed ‘Ops X’.
“Some of the suspects are company owners. They were believed to have used expatriates who violate their applications. We believe they have also been bribing enforcement officers to protect the businesses,” Ahmad Khusairi said when contacted.
He said the raids were conducted based on a three-month-long intelligence gathering, adding that all suspects were brought to the Melaka MACC office for questioning.
“The arrests reflect MACC, Immigration and the DOE’s firm commitment in ensuring efforts to combat corruption, particularly incidents involving the enforcement sector and to protect and preserve the environment,” he added.
Those detained were brought to the Ayer Keroh Magistrate’s Court for remand application.
Magistrate Sharda Shienha Mohd Suleiman granted for the suspects to be remanded for six days until Sunday.
In the same operation, the Immigration department detained 428 undocumented foreigners for various offences.
Immigration deputy director-general Jafri Embok Taha said among the offences were not having valid documents, abuse of passes and overstaying.
“Those detained were from Bangladesh, Myanmar, China, Nepal, Cambodia, Indonesia and Sudan.
“Some tried to escape by hiding in piles of e-waste as well as jumping into nearby drains,” he said.
Those detained were brought to Immigration depots in Melaka, Johor and Kuala Lumpur.
Last week, Bukit Aman’s Internal Security and Public Order (KDNKA) department revealed that RM3.8bil in items and materials were seized following raids on illegal e-waste factories nationwide since January 2023.
Among the items seized were RM3.4bil worth of e-waste materials, RM116mil worth of vehicles, and RM217mil worth of equipment.
Authorities detained 538 individuals between Jan 1 last year and Feb this year.
