KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 — Acting on a tip-off from the Pahang royalty, Federal police crippled a major syndicate involved in the illegal importation, processing and exportation of electronic waste (E-Waste) worth millions of Ringgit.

In a joint operation led by Bukit Aman's Anti-Money Laundering (Amla) division and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Secretariat Unit, a series of police raids were conducted in several states nationwide on August 5.

Raid locations included Rawang and Bukit Tagar in Selangor; Rembau and Gemencheh in Negeri Sembilan, Pekan and Bandar Muadzam Shah in Pahang and Simpang Renggam in Johor.

Acting on a personal tip-off by the Regent of Pahang Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, AMLA division head Datuk Muhammed Hasbullah Ali said the first raid in Pahang and subsequent plant raids revealed all of them were unlicensed and have been in operation since last year.

On the modus operandi, Muhammed Hasbullah said these factories were importing E-Waste from overseas illegally to be processed locally into metal ingots and later exported overseas for profits in the millions.

"Incineration of E-Waste from these factories poses environmental hazards to the surrounding residents.

"Some of these factories were built within oil palm plantations and forest reserves, and they operated under the cover of darkness to avoid suspicion," he said during a press conference this afternoon.

He said the police force's manpower during the raid included those from the General Operations Force.

In addition, a total of 55 people aged between 30 to 50 were arrested, including 10 locals believed to be landowners on which the illegal processing factories were built.

"We are still identifying several other individuals including the owners of the factories," he said.

He also explained that the foreigners which included illegal migrants were brought in as technicians and for their expertise in E-Waste processing.

Muhammed Hasbullah said the total seizure came up to RM43,190,750 and investigators were now probing how the factories were operating without oversight from the local authorities.

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/08/13/pahang-royaltys-tip-off-sparks-rm43-million-e-waste-raid-major-syndicate-dismantled-by-bukit-amans-amla-unit/146853