KL KPDN Cripples Subsidised LPG Syndicate, Seizes 570 Gas Cylinders

KAJANG, May 5 (Bernama) -- The Kuala Lumpur branch of the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) crippled a syndicate involved in the illegal decanting of subsidised liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) following two raids in Wangsa Maju and Semenyih today.

Kuala Lumpur KPDN director Mohd Sabri Seman said eight people, aged between 30 and 40, were arrested during the operation, including a local man, two Indian nationals and five Indonesians.

He said the raids followed two weeks of surveillance on the syndicate, which is believed to have been operating for about a month.

"Intelligence revealed that the syndicate, operating under the guise of a subsidised LPG supplier, transferred gas from 14-kilogramme (kg) subsidised cylinders into 50kg industrial cylinders for sale around the capital. The premises in Semenyih was used specifically for decanting activities," he told a press conference here today.

Mohd Sabri said KPDN has identified the company's owner and taken immediate action to revoke the outlet’s LPG supplier licence.

He said the raids, which involved personnel from Selangor KPDN and the 19th Battalion of the General Operations Force Central Brigade, led to the seizure of 570 subsidised LPG cylinders weighing 9,000kg.

The total value of the seizure is estimated at RM185,000, with the government facing nearly RM20,000 in subsidy losses.

The case is being investigated under the Control of Supplies Act 1961 and the Control of Supplies Regulations 1974.

-- BERNAMA