PENANG KPDN BUSTS THREE SYNDICATES MISAPPROPRIATING SUBSIDISED COOKING OIL

BUTTERWORTH, Jan 14 (Bernama) -- The Penang Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) dismantled three syndicates involved in the misappropriation of subsidised cooking oil under Ops Tiris 3.0 following separate raids in Sungai Bakap, Pekan Darat and here starting yesterday.

Its director S. Jegan said the first operation was conducted at 11.30 am yesterday in Sungai Bakap, while two further raids were carried out in Pekan Darat and Butterworth at 10 am today, following a month of surveillance and intelligence gathering.

He said the ministry seized various brands of subsidised polybag cooking oil valued at more than RM25,962 during the three raids.  The syndicates’ modus operandi involved cutting open one-kilogramme (kg) subsidised polybags and transferring the commodity into large storage tanks.

"Investigations revealed that these three stores had been operating for between two and six months without valid licences or permits to possess or manage scheduled controlled goods.

"In the raid on a house in Pekan Darat, the syndicate was found using an abandoned village house as a repacking site. Two men in their 30s, believed to be syndicate workers, were detained," he told reporters at the scene in Pekan Darat here.

Jegan added that preliminary investigations indicated that the syndicate in Pekan Darat operated on a small but frequent scale, carrying out activities up to twice a week involving nearly 24 tonnes of subsidised cooking oil a month.

The collected oil was then repacked into 17-kg containers and sold to restaurants or industrial customers at RM4 per kg, allowing the syndicates to rake in illegal profits of over RM24,000 per month, he said.

He said a thorough check of the house also led to the seizure of 944 kg of cooking oil in containers and 1,600 kg in polybags, as well as two Intermediate Bulk Container (IBC) tanks and various transfer equipment, including motor pumps, hoses, oil funnels, and cutting knives.

Further investigations are underway to track down the wider network involved, and investigation papers have been opened under Section 21 of the Control of Supplies Act 1961.

-- BERNAMA