KUALA TERENGGANU: Operations against attempts to smuggle subsidised diesel and cooking oil saw successes here and in Kota Baru, with authorities seizing huge amounts of both items.
The Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry, Terengganu branch, seized 8,190 litres of subsidised diesel at the Chukai industrial area in Kemaman.
Its director Saharuddin Mohd Kia said the seizure was carried out at 12.30pm on Wednesday in an operation involving 13 enforcement officers and, in addition, police personnel.
Two local men in their 30s were arrested to assist with the probe.
“During the raid, two men in two tankers were found engaging in transferring diesel using rubber hoses.
“The operation followed a week of intelligence gathering. The total value of the seized diesel is estimated at RM286,781.30,” he told a press conference yesterday, Bernama reported.
Saharuddin said initial investigations found that the syndicate took diesel from the oil depot in Kerteh using a lorry and delivered it to a company with a valid controlled goods permit.
However, the oil was not fully transferred to the company. Instead, the remaining diesel was siphoned into another tanker and resold on the black market, he added.
In Kota Baru, the ministry’s Kelantan branch seized 731kg of subsidised cooking oil at Chabang Tiga, Pengkalan Chepa.
Its director Azman Ismail said two male suspects were observed unloading subsidised cooking oil from a car into a house in Kota Baru.
Following this, the ministry conducted a raid on the house.
The suspects fled the scene, driving recklessly for about 10km, but were eventually apprehended in Chabang Tiga.
“One suspect managed to escape. During the inspection, we discovered 43 boxes containing 731kg of cooking oil, valued at RM1,827.50,” Azman said in a statement yesterday.
He said the suspect failed to produce any documentation for the cooking oil and admitted that the raw material was to be smuggled to a neighbouring country via an illegal route on the Malaysia-Thai border.
