KOTA BARU: The General Operations Force (GOF) Southeast Brigade arrested a man and seized 1,300 saplings of various species along with a lorry, with the total value of the seizure of RM133,000, during Ops Taring Wawasan Kelantan in Kampung Gual Tok Deh, Rantau Panjang, on Thursday night (July 16).
Its commander, SAC Ahmad Radzi Hussain, said the arrest was made at about 9pm by personnel from the Intelligence Branch of the 9th GOF Battalion, Kuala Terengganu, who were conducting patrols in the area in collaboration with the Kelantan Agriculture Department.
He said officers spotted an Isuzu lorry under suspicious circumstances, and an inspection found that it was transporting various types of saplings, including clove, frangipani, lantana, mint, cermai (star gooseberry), wax apple, rose, longan, sapodilla, and rambutan. The saplings were suspected of posing a risk of carrying plant pests and diseases.
"A 43-year-old local man was arrested for further investigation, while the lorry and all the saplings were seized before being handed over to the Kelantan State Department of Agriculture for further action," he said in a statement on Saturday (July 17).
He added that preliminary investigations revealed the saplings were believed to have been brought in from a nursery in a neighbouring country at RM15 per sapling and were scheduled to be delivered to Perak for the local market. The suspect admitted that he was paid RM200 for each successful delivery.
The case is being investigated under Section 6 of the Plant Quarantine Act 1976 (Act 167).
He added that inspections, patrols, and monitoring efforts will continue to be intensified to combat the smuggling of saplings that may carry plant diseases and insect pests, as well as to curb cross-border crime. – Bernama
