The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living has identified six main modus operandi involving leakage of controlled goods, including petrol and diesel, across the country.
Its Minister, Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali, said the findings were presented during the first meeting of the Inter-Agency Coordination High-Level Committee for Combating Leakage and Smuggling, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Fadillah Yusof on March 11.
He explained that the identified tactics involve both land and sea operations, with irregularities detected among holders of scheduled controlled goods licences (CSA), including activities at depots, petrol stations and related facilities.
According to him, the second modus operandi involves third-party diversion of fuel supplies, where fuel is obtained through legitimate channels but not distributed accordingly, as well as bunkering activities suspected of misconduct, which require tighter regulation currently being reviewed by the Transport Ministry.
He added that another method involves the reprocessing of petroleum products in national waters, where different types of fuel, including RON95, are mixed before being resold to specific parties.
Other tactics include the falsification of purchase documents and the concealment of supply before being sold on the black market or to industrial sectors at higher prices.
Armizan said this following monitoring operations at petrol stations and border areas, stressing that stricter control measures are crucial to curb leakage involving smuggling, diversion and stockpiling activities.
He added that enforcement efforts are being strengthened under Ops Tiris 4.0, an enhanced version of Ops Tiris 3.0, which will involve closer coordination among enforcement agencies starting March 16.
The operation will be structured into three main clusters covering land, maritime and border enforcement.
Beyond field operations, he said the government is also strengthening daily monitoring through a supply chain database that tracks distribution from refineries to retail outlets, including storage facilities and industrial users.
