BAGAN DATUK, Oct 7 (Bernama) -- The Perak branch of the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) seized 25,500 litres of subsidised diesel meant for fishermen in a raid on a syndicate that allegedly conducted fishing activities at a private jetty in this district early this morning.
Its director, Datuk Kamalludin Ismail, said that the raid at 12.30 am carried out through operations, Ops Tiris 4.0 (Integrated) and Ops Taring Landai, also involved the seizure of a 30-tonne tanker lorry, three Class C boats, a Skid Tank, a pump with hoses and several related documents.
"The value of the seized diesel is estimated at RM124,950, while the total value of the seizure, including other assets, amounted to RM2.824 million. The case is being investigated under the Control of Supplies Act 1961 and the Control of Supplies Regulations 1974," he said when met at the location after the operations.
He said two men, a Malaysian and a Myanmar national, aged 49 and 38, were detained to assist in the investigation.
He said the Malaysian was a lorry driver while the Myanmar national was the boat skipper, and both were arrested during the diesel transfer activity
He said the diesel in question is suspected to have been obtained through the fishermen's subsidy at a price of RM1.65 per litre before being resold to certain parties at a price of between RM4 and RM5 per litre.
"Further inspection found that the premises owner did not have a valid licence or permit for controlled diesel goods.
"The initial information we received indicates that the diesel is believed to be brought to Penang for the quarry, factory and transportation sectors," he said.
Kamalludin said the private jetty is believed to have only been in operation for about two months and was used to deceive the authorities by hiding behind fish landing and seafood activities, as no seafood was found at the jetty.
Meanwhile, Kamalludin said the Perak KPDN has taken four actions related to diesel smuggling in Bagan Datuk this year, respectively in June, August, September and October.
He also said two cases involved licensed diesel sales centres while the other two involved private jetties, with a total seizure worth RM5.13 million, involving 121,160 litres of diesel and four Class C boats.
"This shows that the syndicate misusing subsidised diesel for fishermen is still active, and we will continue to pursue them to ensure that subsidised diesel for fishermen is not misused," he added.
-- BERNAMA