10 arrested at Johor port over suspected attempt to smuggle petrol onto tanker vessel
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Nine foreigners and one Malaysian were detained to assist with the investigations.
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Ten people were arrested and more than RM4.9 million (S$1.6 million) worth of items were seized at Malaysia’s Johor Port on March 11 after the authorities foiled a suspected attempt to illegally transfer petrol – a controlled product – to a tanker vessel.
Officers from the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) detained a tanker truck that was used to transfer controlled goods to an anchored tanker vessel, said KPDN enforcement director Azman Adam on March 15, as quoted by state news agency Bernama.
Initial inspections found that several tanks on the vessel contained petroleum liquid suspected to be petrol.
“Further inspections revealed that the petrol was stored in the ship’s four main tanks with a total estimated quantity of 929,124 litres, valued at an estimated RM2.6 million,” said Datuk Azman in a statement.
Nine foreigners and one Malaysian were detained to assist with the investigations.
Mr Azman said the ministry seized the tanker, tanker truck and suspected petrol, as well as items believed to be used in the transfer of the petroleum, including rubber hoses, shipping documents and oil tanker documents.
The total value of the seized items is estimated to be at least RM4,902,952.
Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Armizan Mohd Ali said earlier in March that his ministry would step up enforcement efforts at Malaysia’s borders to ensure that fuel supplies are not smuggled out to neighbouring countries.
“When compared with fuel prices in neighbouring countries that do not have subsidies, there is a fairly high tendency for smuggling to occur,” he was quoted as saying by local media outlet The Star.
The war in the Middle East and Iran’s near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas passes through, have driven up oil prices globally.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had said the government would do its best to keep the price of RON95 petrol, which is subsidised and can be purchased only by eligible Malaysian citizens, at RM1.99 per litre.
Subsidies for RON95 are estimated to increase to about RM2 billion, while diesel subsidies have increased to about RM1.2 billion, Second Finance Minister Amir Hamzah Azizan was reported as saying on March 13.
This brings the total fuel subsidies for RON95 and diesel to RM3.2 billion, an increase of RM2.5 billion from the RM700 million fuel subsidy bill before the Middle East conflict.
