GOF SEIZES KAOLIN, PROCESSING EQUIPMENT WORTH OVER RM6 MLN IN IPOH

IPOH, March 13 (Bernama) -- The General Operations Force (GOF) seized 45,000 tonnes of kaolin along with various machines and equipment worth an estimated RM6.26 million during Khazanah Integrated Ops at a factory suspected of operating illegally in the Ipoh area yesterday.

GOF Northern Brigade commander SAC Balveer Singh Mahindar Singh said the operation, conducted with the Perak Department of Minerals and Geoscience (JMG) and the Ipoh district police headquarters, also led to the arrest of the factory’s director, a man in his 40s, and five foreign workers, including a woman, believed to be involved in illegally processing the mineral.

He said further inspection of the factory, which had been operating for about a year, uncovered a large quantity of white soil, known as kaolin, being processed, as well as several types of machinery used in the operation.

“The modus operandi involved purchasing mixed white soil obtained from kaolin quarry areas and processing it by filtering, washing, compressing and separating the mineral soil into sand and pure kaolin to improve its quality.

“Once processed, the higher-grade kaolin is then sold at a higher price for both domestic and international markets,” he said in a statement today.

Balveer Singh said the case is being investigated by the Perak JMG under the Mineral Development (Licensing) Regulations 2016 and the Mineral Development Act 1994 (Act 525).

“The company director is also being investigated under Section 55B of the Immigration Act 1959/63 for employing illegal immigrants.

“Two of the foreign workers are being investigated under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 for failing to produce valid identification documents, while the other three are being investigated under Regulation 39(b) of the Immigration Regulations 1963 for breaching the conditions of their passes,” he said.

-- BERNAMA