Penang: The tactic of a syndicate parking tankers on the side of a dead-end road near a residential area to illegally transfer diesel was successfully uncovered by the Penang Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) in a raid at Taman Perdana Simpang Ampat, this morning.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, State KPDN director S. Jegan stated that the raid was conducted by a team of enforcement officers at 5 am, following six months of intelligence gathering due to suspicions of fraudulent activities by the syndicate in the area. Jegan described this operation as a new modus operandi in Penang, with the syndicate taking the risk of parking a 24,000-litre capacity tanker in an open area.

Investigations revealed that the tanker lorry had been stationed at the location for approximately a month. Another lorry, functioning as a 'mobile warehouse,' would arrive with a diesel load for transfer. Once fully loaded, the tanker would proceed to transport the diesel to a specific destination.

Jegan mentioned that despite the area's bustling nature, the illegal activities remained unnoticed as the syndicate operated during early morning hours to evade detection. During the raid, authorities apprehended a 29-year-old local man, believed to be the lorry driver, while two other individuals, suspected to be foreigners, managed to escape into a nearby bush.

The inspection uncovered about 14,000 litres of diesel in the tanker lorry, along with six IBC tanks found in another lorry. Additionally, KPDN raided an unnumbered warehouse in the Simpang Ampat area, suspected to be the diesel storage site before transfer to the tanker.

Jegan reported that the enforcement team seized a 14-tonne canvas lorry, a 24,000-litre tanker lorry, 12 units of IBC tanks, three pump motors, three rubber hoses, and a mobile phone, with the total value of the seizure estimated at RM200,000. The case is currently under investigation under the Control of Supplies Act 1961.