MELAKA: Melaka police have dismantled an illegal electronic waste (e-waste) processing facility at the Bukit Rambai industrial area here believed to be processing foreign waste.
Melaka police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Dzulkhairi Mukhtar said approximately 300 tonnes of aluminium ingots, estimated to be worth RM2.1mil were seized during the raid at around 11am on Tuesday (July 15).
He said the processed materials were allegedly intended for export to China.
DCP Dzulkhairi said the operation followed a week-long surveillance effort conducted in collaboration with the Department of Environment (DOE) and the state Inland Revenue Board.
"The same facility was fined for a different offence last year but today (July 15) we found it had resumed operations, this time smelting the e-waste.
"We believe the activity has been ongoing for the past three to four months," he said during a press conference at the site today.
"This plant had been turned into an illegal transit point for e-waste processing with the materials being refined here before being exported abroad," he said.
DCP Dzulkhairi expressed concern that Malaysia continues to be used as a dumping and processing ground for e-waste following strict bans on such activities in several developed countries.
"This is why some parties are exploiting the situation, turning Melaka into a hub for disposing of and processing e-waste, which poses serious environmental and public health risks," he said.
DCP Dzulkhairi said unprocessed materials, including various electronic components such as remote controls and CCTV cameras, were also confiscated during the raid.
He said a total of 25 foreign workers, aged between 20 and 45, were detained during the raid.
He added that the case is being investigated under Section 29(1) of the Minor Offences Act and Section 55(1)(b) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.
