A LORRY driver fled from his vehicle that had been modified to carry subsidised diesel by the side of the road in Bandar Perda. The man realised he was being followed by enforcement officers from the Penang Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry last Saturday.

Penang ministry director S. Jegan said enforcement officers who carried out Ops Tiris initially detected the 7-tonne lorry which was suspiciously refuelling at several petrol stations around the area. They then tailed the vehicle but at the same time the ministry’s vehicle was also being followed by a tonto team in the 3pm incident.

“Upon arriving at the side of the road near Perda City Mall building, the lorry driver, who is believed to have been tipped off by the tonto about our presence, abandoned the lorry and fled (with the tonto). 

“Inspection on the lorry found that there was an additional metal tank at the back (of the lorry) containing 6,000 litres of subsidised diesel and two pump motor units and hoses in the lower part of the vehicle floor for the purpose of suctioning diesel from the original tank,” he told a press conference in Bukit Mertajam today.

Jegan said his team seized the subsidised diesel, the lorry and the equipment, all of which were worth RM73,500, and efforts are being made to trace the syndicate’s network in an effort to crack down on its smuggling activity.

“Since Ops Tiris was carried out on March 1 until yesterday, we have solved eight cases involving the confiscation of subsidised diesel amounting to 50,350 litres and a number of lorries and various equipment which are all worth RM369,231,” he said, all the cases were investigated under the Control of Supplies Act 1961. – Bernama, March 20, 2023.