By Aida Aziz
Photo: KPDN Perak
IPOH: A car workshop was found to be concealing an illegal diesel storage facility.
This was the modus operandi of a car workshop suspected of storing controlled goods—diesel—without a permit in Anjung Tawas Sinaran, here.
Datuk Kamalludin Ismail, Director of the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) Perak, said that a raid on the premises on Tuesday, conducted under Ops Tiris, led to the discovery of 5,000 liters of liquid believed to be diesel.
“The raid was carried out following a week of intelligence gathering and monitoring by KPDN Perak enforcement officers, aimed at addressing the diversion and leakage of controlled goods in Ipoh.
“Intelligence information led to the discovery of an illegal diesel storage hidden behind the car workshop.
“This syndicate buys diesel at a low price of around RM2 per liter from truck drivers who steal diesel from their employer’s vehicles. They siphon the fuel from the truck’s tank into drums behind the workshop. The diesel is then sold to industries around Ipoh,” he said in a statement here today.
He added that a 59-year-old local man, who claimed to be the owner of the workshop, failed to provide any permission letters, licenses, or permits to store controlled goods.
As a result, 5,000 liters of suspected diesel, 24 drums, 11 jerrycans, a fuel pump, and mobile phones were seized, with a total estimated value of RM19,363.94.
The case will be investigated under the Supply Control Act 1961.
Further investigations will be carried out under Regulation 9(2)(b) of the Supply Control Regulations 1974 against the supplier company of the diesel controlled goods, suspected of selling or supplying controlled goods to unauthorized individuals.
