Taiping: The Ulu Kinta General Operations Force (GOF) seized 35,400 kilogrammes (kg) of latex as well as various machinery worth RM789,132.04 in a raid on premises in Taiping yesterday.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the Northern Brigade GOF commander, Senior Assistant Commissioner Shahrum Hashim, stated that four local men and a Pakistani national, aged between 32 and 59 years, were also arrested in an enforcement operation codenamed Op Intra.

He explained that the operation, conducted between 2.30 am and 6 pm, was executed by the Northern Brigade Intelligence Branch of the GOF, with assistance from the Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB), Taiping Municipal Council, and Taiping district police headquarters.

Shahrum detailed that the operation team had been monitoring the misappropriation of latex for two months, tracking a tanker truck transporting latex from Kedah to a premises in Taiping. At the location, the suspects transferred the latex using a hose pipe into an Intermediate Bulk Container (IBC) tank with a capacity of 1,000 kg.

He revealed that an inspection discovered the tanker truck’s driver had sold 900 kg of latex, employing a deceptive method by replacing the weight of the sold latex with several units of iron weights placed on the tanker truck’s body to avoid detection during reweighing.

Furthermore, Shahrum mentioned that the Pakistani national was detained under Regulation 39(b) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 for violating work permit conditions. The other arrested individuals and the seized items have been handed over to the MRB for further investigation.

He also noted that the case is being investigated under the MRB (Licensing and Permit) Regulations 2014 and Regulation 7(1)f, with potential consequences including the imposition of compounds and the revocation of licences if licence condition violations are confirmed.