BUTTERWORTH: The Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry has foiled a diesel smuggling operation, with total seizures exceeding RM327,000.
Its Penang director, S. Jegan, said they succeeded in cracking the illegal activity involving the transportation of controlled and subsidised goods, namely 21,190L of diesel, through their Ops Tiris 4.0 and Ops Jeriji raids in Butterworth on Saturday night (April 4).
"The operation was carried out after a month-long surveillance.
"We found that they had been using two tankers to store and transfer diesel before transporting it out of Penang.
"The modus operandi in this case was that the tankers were used as storage for diesel, where a smaller (17-tonne) tanker was seen transferring diesel to a larger (28-tonne) tanker in a housing area here," he said during a press conference at the ministry’s Penang store in Butterworth on Sunday (April 5).
He said they might have been using smaller lorries, with these tankers serving as storage to keep the diesel.
"When we conducted the operation, these two tankers were found to be used to store and transfer diesel from the smaller one to the larger one, with the intention of completely filling the larger tanker.
"We are unsure if this is old stockpiled diesel or diesel collected every Wednesday (before weekly price changes) to be transported out of Penang as part of a syndicate.
"We believe they are transporting diesel out of Penang to other states or even out of the country, depending on where prices are higher," he said.
Jegan said further inspection during the seizure found that the premises failed to produce documents related to licences or permits to own and manage scheduled controlled goods, as required by law.
"During the operation, two Myanmar nationals in their 20s who were at the location were arrested to assist with investigations.
"The men were the drivers of the respective tankers.
"We are still in the process of identifying the main individuals involved in this racket," he said.
He said the seizure involved both tankers, a set of hoses, a pump unit and several related business documents to assist further investigations.
"In the tankers, we found liquid believed to be diesel amounting to 21,190L, bringing the total value of the seizure to an estimated RM327,963.
"An investigation paper has been opened and is being conducted under Section 21 of the Control of Supplies Act 1961 (Act 122) for possession of controlled goods with intent to commit an offence," he said.
He said that, if convicted under this Act, an individual may be fined not more than RM1mil (and for subsequent offences, not more than RM3mil), or face imprisonment of up to three years, or both.
"Companies, if convicted, may be fined not more than RM2mil, with subsequent offences attracting fines of up to RM5mil," he said.
He added that the ministry will continue to intensify monitoring and enforcement to ensure that no party takes the opportunity to divert subsidised controlled goods that should be channelled to the people.
"Members of the public who have any information regarding diversion activities involving controlled and subsidised goods are urged to submit their complaints to the ministry through our website and the various channels provided," he said.
