FIVE HELD, FERTILISERS AND PROCESSING MACHINES WORTH RM771,000 SEIZED IN TASEK GELUGOR

TASEK GELUGOR, Feb 17 (Bernama) -- Police arrested five men, including two foreign nationals, and seized various fertiliser processing machines, a lorry, and 47,000 kg of fertiliser worth RM771,000 during a raid on a local factory yesterday.

General Operations Force (GOF) Northern Brigade Commander SAC Balveer Singh said the suspects, comprising three Malaysians aged 34 to 51, an Indonesian and a Myanmar national in their 30s and 40s, were believed to be involved in the illegal processing of compound and chemical fertilisers.

“Further inspection of the factory revealed a large quantity of fertiliser being processed, as well as various machines used in production.

“The initial investigation found that the illegal factory had been in operation for the past six years,” he said in a statement late last night.

He said the modus operandi involved illegally obtaining subsidised compound and chemical fertilisers, mixing them with other substances to increase quantity, and repackaging them for sale for use on crops.

Balveer Singh said the case had been referred to the Penang Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry (KPDN), and the factory owner was being investigated under Section 21(1) of the Control of Supplies Act 1961 (Act 122).

“Initial urine screening results revealed that three of them tested positive for heroin and are under investigation under Section 15(1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, while the two foreign suspects are being investigated under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 for failing to produce identification documents,” he said.

Balveer Singh said the factory owner was also being investigated under Section 55B of the Immigration Act 1959/63 for employing illegal immigrants and had been compounded by the Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP) for operating a business without a valid licence.

According to him, the integrated operation was conducted by the Intelligence Branch of the GOF Northern Brigade Headquarters, in collaboration with the Seberang Perai Utara District Police Headquarters (IPD), Penang KPDN and MBSP

--BERNAMA