According to Kelantan’s domestic trade and cost of living ministry (KPDN), ‘ant army’ tactics are being used to smuggle fuel across the Malaysia-Thailand border – in other words, transporting fuel in small quantities repeatedly, Bernama reports.
This follows heightened enforcement through the integrated Op Tiris 4.0 and joint operations involving multiple agencies, state KPDN director Hanif Yusabra Yusuf said.
He added that 318 cases involving the smuggling and misappropriation of controlled goods have been recorded to date. A total of 135 individuals have been arrested and 193 vehicles totalling RM1.875 million in value have been seized.
“The value of seized controlled goods amounted to RM552,000, including 24,446 litres of petrol worth RM63,500 and 48,500 litres of diesel worth RM218,000. All cases are currently at various stages of investigation under the Control of Supplies Act 1961,” Hanif said, adding that hotspots include Rantau Panjang, Pengkalan Kubor and several routes near Sungai Golok.
Besides the ‘ant army’ tactic, syndicates are still modifying vehicle fuel tanks, installing extra tanks in vehicles, transferring fuel collected in stages from several petrol stations into drums, transporting the fuel through illegal routes, and frequently changing movement timings and locations to avoid detection.
The state KPDN director also said that the ministry did not rule out the possibility of petrol station operators or companies being involved in smuggling activities. However, he stressed that every allegation would be thoroughly investigated based on intelligence, evidence and credible facts.
“If there is evidence of any breach of the law, firm action will be taken without compromise against any party involved,” he said, adding that the main challenges faced by KPDN include the vast border area, the existence of numerous illegal crossing routes, syndicates’ constantly-evolving tactics and the illegal trade’s huge profits.
Hanif said KPDN would continue to strengthen intelligence gathering, enhance intelligence-led operations, expand strategic cooperation with enforcement agencies and intensify monitoring of the subsidised fuel distribution chain with the support of technology, including drones and smart surveillance systems.
What if these smuggler use PHEV to smuggler the fuel, fill in full tank before smuggling and use EV mode to travel to thailand? ez 50L (RM120) per trip.
seriously, can we do that? what car, j7 phev or emas 7 phev?
Proton e.MAS 7 PHEV: 51 liters
Chery Tiggo 7 PHEV: 60 liters
Jaecoo J7 PHEV: 60 liters
Chery Tiggo 8 PHEV: 60 liters
Omoda C9 PHEV: 70 liters
Say for example RM1.50 profit per liter is like RM75 – 90 per trip per IC.
the limitation here is Budi95 200 liters per month per NRIC . its not about fuel tank capacity.
Recalcitrant rogue petrol station operators have been suspected ,doing this for donkey years.
Only thing is they are not caught red handed.
using the ant army tactic, need to make a lot of rounds. worth it meh?
assuming RM1.5 ringgit profit per liter, 200 liters budi95 per month, thats total 300 ringgit profit per month per NRIC .
source – i myself am a B40 lookign for part time job
That was so funny I burst out laughing, to the consternation of those around me!
Why aren’t the authorities going after the companies that modify petrol tanks? That by itself is illegal – there is no justification for it whatsoever. Change the law – caning is compulsory. Then you see the drop in all these activities. Also, check petrol level like how Singapore government does for all Singapore cars exiting Singapore towards Malaysia. You look at their petrol level. If this car with the same number plate is going 2 to 3 times with a full tank – you already know lah. No further intelligence required. Crack down on the fella.
Slowly get rid of the subsidies and you don’t have to pay for both the subsidies and the cost to enforce the law. There are plenty of ways to lower the cost of living without resorting to direct product subsidies. Lowering the price encourages waste and smuggling, then extra cost to enforce it, then you still need to finance the deficit spending… Where does that lead us? The country won’t go bankrupt because countries can print unlimited money to finance the deficit. Deficit itself wouldn’t be a problem if they lead to growth, but fuel subsidy is not a growth driver but a status quo maintenance move. The ensuing inflation resulting from this profligacy with no growth will only bankrupt the rakyat. Politicians gets brownie points for allegedly “supporting the rakyat” while inevitably bankrupting them. Well, that being said, the majority voted for this so… we reap what we sow?