KOTA BHARU, June 27 — The Kelantan Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry (KPDN) branch has not detected any attempts to smuggle diesel out of the country since the price float was declared on June 10.
Its director Azman Ismail said monitoring and enforcement by KPDN officers at border fuel stations have had a significant impact on such activities.
“We believe the enforcement of the new diesel price has made smugglers unwilling to risk losses if caught, aside from getting smaller profits.
“The current issue is that smugglers are turning to smuggling petrol as the price of RON95 is still subsidised, and they can make a substantial profit by smuggling it out,” he told Bernama recently.
The government recently announced that under the subsidy rationalisation initiative, diesel would be sold at RM3.35 per litre at fuel stations in Peninsular Malaysia effective June 10, with the retail price to be declared weekly.
Azman said the KPDN continues to collaborate with other agencies, including the Customs Department, General Operations Force and marine police, to thwart attempts to smuggle out fuel.
“Cases of fuel misappropriation mostly involve locals using the modus operandi of repeatedly filling up full tanks at different stations and transferring the fuel into containers to be smuggled.
“The tactic of using additional tanks is still being detected in old vehicles that have been modified to hold large quantities of fuel, up to 200 litres,” he said.
— Bernama
