Four Men Held For Attempting To Smuggle Over 3,000 Litres Of Subsidised Diesel

TUMPAT, April 13 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) in Kelantan busted a subsidised diesel syndicate, which used the tactic of purchasing diesel under the pretext of supplying fishermen in Ops Tiris 4.0 near Pengkalan Jeti Nelayan in Kampung Genting here yesterday.

Its deputy director Aswadi Jaafar said the operation conducted in collaboration with Region 3 Marine Police Force based in Pengkalan Kubor led to the seizure of around 3,300 litres of subsidised diesel worth more than RM22,000.

“The total value of the seizure is estimated at over RM722,176, including four fishing boats of various classes believed to have been used in the activity.

“Four men, aged between 20 and 40, were detained for investigation under Section 21 of the Control of Supplies Act 1961,” he said in a press conference at Kampung Nelayan Pengkalan Kubor’s jetty here today.

Aswadi said initial investigations found that the syndicate’s modus operandi involved collecting subsidised diesel allocated to fishermen from several boats before transferring it to a larger vessel.

“They used pumps, hoses and modified additional tanks, and also concealed fuel in fish holds to evade detection by authorities.

“The collected diesel was later transferred to larger boats before being smuggled to a neighbouring country via sea routes, while some were believed to have been sold to operators of large vessels,” he said.

He added that authorities will also investigate whether fishermen have sold subsidised diesel to smugglers at prices lower than those set at petrol stations.

-- BERNAMA