TANAH MERAH - The police seized 97,780 litres of diesel worth RM210,227 in two separate raids in Tanah Merah and Machang early today.
Kelantan acting police chief Datuk Muhamad Zaki Harun said eight suspects including a Bangladeshi aged 29 to 50 were detained in the raids.
He said the raids were conducted by a team from the Eighth Battalion of the General Operations Force (GOF8) and the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) in Kelantan.
"They also seized five lorries, three fuel suction machines and six static tanks worth a total RM910,007 in the two raids.
"All the suspects were taken to the Tanah Merah and Machang district police headquarters for further action.
"The case is being investigated under Section 21 of the Control of Supplies Act 1961,” he said after visiting the location where the diesel was seized in Kampung Tebing Tinggi here on Sunday.
He said the modus operandi of the group was to buy subsidised oil using ordinary lorries with modified fuel tanks which was then transferred to the static tanks.
"The illegal activity of the diesel supplying company based in Tanah Merah, which bought diesel at the subsidised price and not the industrial rate set by the government, is believed to have been going on for a long time,” he added. - BERNAMA