RM4.5 mln daily loss to smuggling of petroleum products
KOTA KINABALU: The country loses about RM4.5 million a day due to the smuggling of petroleum products such as diesel and RON95.
Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said this was revealed in a report published by the EUASEAN Business Council on the biggest smuggling issue faced in Malaysia, which are petroleum products.
“Based on a study released by the EU-ASEAN, they report that three million liters of petroleum are smuggled out of Malaysia every day.
“However, the report does not mention the amount of losses involved,” he said in a press conference after officiating the closing of the coordination workshop on combating the leakage of controlled goods with other state enforcement agencies on Thursday.
Armizan however said that the three million liters is estimated to be worth RM4.5 million.
To tackle the problems of leakage and smuggling, the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) has implemented Op Tiris to combat the misuse of subsidized diesel oil which has caused losses to the country.
The actions of irresponsible parties in smuggling the subsidized diesel caused the fuel not to reach those who deserve it, he said.
“Based on enforcement statistics under Op Tiris 1.0 and 2.0 which was first implemented in 2023, a total of 6.4 million liters of diesel oil was confiscated with a total value of RM14.2 million.
“For the same period, a total of 877 cases were recorded including 386 cases handed over to agencies with a total seizure value of RM42.1 million.
“During the implementation of Op Tiris 1.0 and 2.0, a total of 32 cases were recorded in Sabah for the same period with seizures worth RM1.05 million, while 668 people have been detained including 554 local citizens, 112 foreigners and two permanent residents,” he said.
According to Armizan, the success in the implementation of Op Tiris 1.0 and 2.0 in 2023, was due to the continued enforcement cooperation with enforcement agencies under Op Tiris 3.0 this year.
Armizan said that during the enforcement of Op Tiris 3.0 from January 1 to February 15, a total of 3,257 inspections were carried out nationwide and succeeded in yielding a total of 330 cases with a confiscation value of RM5.15 million.
It involved the confiscation of diesel oil amounting to RM4.76 million, RON95 petrol amounting to RM90,611, liquid petroleum gas (LPG) amounting to RM154,189, cooking oil amounting to RM107,759 and sugar amounting to RM35,737.
A total of 65 individuals were also detained for further investigation under the Supply Control Act 1961 (Act 122).
For the same period, a total of 29 cases were recorded in Sabah with a total seizure of controlled goods worth RM192,845.
Also present were KPDN Director General Datuk Azman Adam and Sabah KPDN Deputy Director of Enforcement Zulfamy Mat Udi.