KUALA LUMPUR: Police have arrested 15 men for illegally selling PETRONAS diesel following raids in six states.
Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Comm Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said the operation was conducted after an internal investigation by PETRONAS and intelligence gathering by police.
The suspects were aged between 29 and 52, he added.
"We also seized items including 16 mobile phones, 17 sets of documents, gasoline gauging paste, two fuel gauges, two laptops and 16 SIM cards.
"The raids were conducted in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu.
"The suspects have been remanded for seven days for further investigation," he said in a statement Thursday (Aug 24).
Investigations found that the syndicate had been operating since 2021 and caused PETRONAS some RM13.5mil in losses, Comm Ramli said.
"The syndicate consists of individuals in the shipping industry.
"We believe they sold... diesel fuel designated for marine vessels to other buyers illegally. The price (ranged from) RM1.80 to RM1.98 per litre," he said.
"We are investigating further to uncover the extent of the syndicate and its illegal activity," he added.
