Penang KPDN foils a syndicate’s new tactic of roadside diesel transfers, arresting one suspect and seizing tankers and equipment worth RM200,000.

BATU KAWAN: The Penang Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) has uncovered a new syndicate tactic involving the illegal roadside transfer of diesel.

A raid at Taman Perdana Simpang Ampat this morning foiled the operation, which involved parking a large tanker on a dead-end road near a residential area.

State KPDN director S. Jegan said the enforcement action followed six months of intelligence gathering on suspected fraudulent activities in the area.

He described it as a new modus operandi for Penang, where the syndicate risked parking a 24,000-litre capacity tanker in an open area.

“Investigations found that this tanker lorry had been left here for about a month, while another lorry that acted as a ‘mobile warehouse’ would come carrying a load of diesel for the purpose of transfer.

“After being fully filled, this tanker lorry would move to make a delivery to a certain location,” he told reporters at the scene.

Jegan said the syndicate operated in the early morning hours to avoid detection, despite the area being quite busy.

During the raid, three individuals were transferring fuel, leading to the arrest of a 29-year-old local man believed to be the lorry driver.

Two other suspects, believed to be foreigners, fled into a nearby bush area.

An inspection found about 14,000 litres of diesel in the tanker lorry and six IBC tanks in another vehicle.

KPDN also raided an unnumbered warehouse in Simpang Ampat believed to be the diesel storage location prior to transfer.

In total, authorities seized a 14-tonne canvas lorry, a 24,000-litre tanker lorry, 12 IBC tanks, three pump motors, three rubber hoses and a mobile phone.

The total estimated value of the seizure is RM200,000.

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

 The Sun Malaysia