GOF: ILLEGAL PLASTIC WASTE FACILITY BUSTED, SEVEN HELD, RM20 MLN IN MACHINERY SEIZED

KULIM, March 31 (Bernama) -- The General Operations Force (GOF) arrested seven men, including six foreign nationals, in a raid on a premises suspected of carrying out illegal plastic waste processing activities here on Sunday (March 29).

Its Northern Brigade commander, SAC Balveer Singh Mahindar Singh, said the suspects comprised a local man believed to be the caretaker of the premises, along with four Bangladeshi nationals and two Nepalese nationals believed to be workers at the site.

He said the raid, conducted at about 3 pm, was carried out by the Intelligence Branch of the brigade’s 18th Battalion in collaboration with the Kulim Department of Environment (DOE).

“Inspections found that the premises had installed and operated several plastic processing facilities without any notification or approval from the DOE,” he said in a statement today.

“The raiding team also discovered a large quantity of plastic stockpiles, both unprocessed and processed, as well as several machines used in the processing activities.

Various machines used for plastic processing, as well as three forklifts, were also seized, with the total value of the confiscated items estimated at more than RM20 million.

He added that initial investigations found the premises had been operating for more than nine years, with plastic waste materials sourced from the Klang Valley.

The facilities at the premises were used to process plastic materials, with the processed plastic pellets subsequently exported overseas.

The 35-year-old local man is being investigated under Section 55B of the Immigration Act 1959/63 for employing illegal immigrants, he said.

Meanwhile, six Bangladeshi and Nepalese men aged between 22 and 46 are being investigated under Regulation 39(b) of the Immigration Regulations 1963.

“The case has been handed over to the Kulim DOE for investigation under Section 34A of the Environmental Quality Act 1974 for failing to submit a report on the environmental impact of the plastic processing activities,” he said.

-- BERNAMA