KUALA LUMPUR: Six individuals have been arrested and goods worth RM113 million confiscated in police raids on seven company premises in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur suspected of smuggling iron and metal products from abroad.
Bukit Aman Internal Security and Public Order Department director Datuk Seri Azmi Abu Kassim said those detained in the raids last Friday (Jan 17) comprised two local men, one local woman and three foreign men, aged between 33 and 50.
“The operation, conducted in collaboration with the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) and the Department of Environment (DOE), targeted companies supplying iron and metal products to the construction sector.
“Inspections uncovered various offences, including the failure to present valid standard compliance documents (PPS) for imported iron and metal products intended for the construction industry,” he said in a statement here today.
Azmi revealed that the raids also discovered various metal products classified as end products without valid PPS certification by CIDB for domestic construction use.
“In addition, semi-finished iron and metal products suspected to have been illegally imported were also seized,” he added.
The confiscated items included operational equipment, various types of metal products, 8,939 tonnes of industrial iron and steel, five containers, 12 forklifts, 40 gas cylinders and 61 different machines used for processing iron and steel.
Azmi also emphasised that the use of uncertified iron and metal products poses risks to public safety.
“The quality of iron and metal products used across all domestic industry sectors must be certified by CIDB or the Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM) before use,” he said.
He said the locals were company owners and managers while the foreigners were their workers.
He said the local woman suspect was released on police bail, while the two local men were remanded for one day and later released after questioning. The three foreign men have been remanded until Feb 4.
The case is being investigated under Section 33D of the Malaysian Construction Industry Development Board Act 1994, Regulation 39(b) of the Immigration Regulations 1963, Section 55B(1) of the Immigration Act 1959/63, Section 135(1)(d) of the Customs Act 1967, and the Environmental Quality (Scheduled Wastes) Regulations 2005 of the Environmental Quality Act 1974.