JOHOR BARU – The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry (KPDNHEP) has busted a syndicate stealing subsidised cooking oil that earned a profit of up to RM15 million in the last six months.
Putrajaya KPDNHEP deputy enforcement director (operations) Shamsul Nizam Khalil said a team from the ministry exposed the syndicate’s tactics during a raid on an industrial building in Taman Pasir Putih, Pasir Gudang, here, around 2am today.
The team found 10,149 packets of cooking oil weighing 1kg each and 4.5 tonnes of oil inside a tank, with an overall value of RM280,000, he added.
He said 15 workers, including their supervisor, were also detained during the raid.
“Seven of them are local men, while the other eight are foreigners from Nepal and Bangladesh, aged between 35 and 45.”
Shamsul Nizam said the syndicate has been operating since last year, adding that its modus operandi is to obtain cooking oil supplies from several factories and licensed wholesalers in Kedah, Perak, Pahang and the Klang Valley.
The supplies will then be transported to the premises in Pasir Gudang, he added, where the oil in the packets will be filled in two 1,000l tanks before being exported.
“We are still investigating their export destinations, and the possibility of a link between the syndicate and factories that produce 15 different brands of cooking oil.”
Shamsul Nizam said police believe the syndicate has been stealing between 500,000 and one million packets of cooking oil every month.
He said the case is being investigated under the Control of Supplies Act 1961, which provides for a fine of up to RM1 million, or imprisonment for three years, or both, upon conviction.
It will also be investigated under Section 4(1) (a) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds from Illicit Activities Act 2001, he added. – Bernama, May 4, 2021
