Kuala lumpur: The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) in Kuala Lumpur has busted a syndicate misappropriating subsidised packet cooking oil by repackaging and selling it as prayer oil in four raids in the capital today. Kuala Lumpur KPDN deputy director Mohd Shahran Mohd Arshad said the operation under Ops Tiris 4.0 uncovered three interlinked cases and seized nine tonnes of cooking oil worth about RM165,000.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the operation, conducted following two months of intelligence gathering and supply profiling, involved four premises in Sentul and Chow Kit, comprising two licensed wholesalers and two unlicensed premises. 'The syndicate's modus operandi was to purchase one-kilogramme packets of subsidised cooking oil from packers and wholesalers before repackaging it into bottles and selling it as prayer oil, either without adding other substances or with small amounts of additives, to retailers in the Klang Valley,' Mohd Shahran told reporters at one of the locations raided.

He explained that the syndicate bought the subsidised oil at RM2.45 per litre before reselling it at about RM7.50 per litre, earning a profit of about RM4 per litre. 'For one premise alone, an estimated 200 bottles or nearly one tonne of subsidised cooking oil were processed daily. The premises are believed to have been operating illegally for the past six months,' he added.

Mohd Shahran further revealed that five individuals aged between 30 and 35 were detained, comprising three Indian nationals, a Sri Lankan, and a local man who worked as a van driver. The case is being investigated under the Control of Supplies Act 1961 and the Trade Descriptions Act 2011 for using unregistered labels.