Fertiliser embezzlement racket: Seven arrested in Lahad Datu
Published on: Thursday, January 09, 2020
By: Efa Rizan
LAHAD DATU: About 60.15 metric tonnes of palm oil fertiliser worth RM485,352.85 were seized and seven men, including a foreigner, were detained for involvement in a fertiliser embezzlement syndicate during a raid at a warehouse in a plantation at Batu 4 Lahad Datu-Sandakan road, Monday.
District Police Chief, ACP Nasri Mansor said seven suspects, including two lorry drivers, a foreman and four warehouse workers were detained at 10pm.
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“The fertiliser were meant to be delivered to a company in Keningau but the group made a stop at the warehouse to sell some of the fertiliser.
“They were in the midst of unloading the fertiliser from the lorry when they were arrested and the warehouse’s foreman confessed that he was approached by the lorry driver who sold him 1,200 sacks of fertiliser weighing 60 tonnes.
“Upon further inspection, the team discovered 2,450 sacks of fertilisers worth RM171,500 in the warehouse,” he said.
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Nasri said the syndicate has been active since 2018 and carried the operation illegally for at least three times a week.
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“The warehouse owner has been identified and we are still tracking the remaining members of the syndicate,” he said adding that they are currently under remand and being investigated under Section 407 of the Penal Code.