Kuala lumpur: The General Operations Force (GOF) detained six men and seized 360 tonnes of iron ore, five vehicles, and an excavator worth a total of RM2.98 million during Ops Bersepadu Khazanah at a mining site in Mukim Kuala Nal, Kuala Krai, today.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, GOF Southeast Brigade commander SAC Ahmad Radzi Hussain stated that the raid was executed at 1 pm by intelligence personnel from the GOF 8th Battalion in Pengkalan Chepa, in collaboration with the Kelantan Land and Mines Office (PTG). Inspections at the site revealed an excavator loading iron ore onto four mototrailers.

Ahmad Radzi mentioned that six men, aged between 31 and 63, were detained to assist in the investigation. These individuals include a site caretaker, an excavator operator, and four mototrailer drivers. Although the company holds a valid mining licence, further inspection by the PTG confirmed that mining activities were being conducted beyond the approved area under the licence conditions.

Ahmad Radzi further explained that all the suspects and the seized items had been handed over to the Kelantan Land and Mines Office for further action under Section 158 of the Mineral Enactment 2001. The suspects admitted to working under the supervision of a supervisor responsible for managing operations at the mine. Investigations also suggested that the extracted iron ore was believed to have been transported to a processing plant in Kuantan, Pahang.

He emphasized that the GOF would persist in intelligence gathering and monitoring operations to detect breaches of licence conditions and curb illegal mining activities in Kelantan.