Two men suspected of stealing fresh oil palm fruits were arrested less than five hours after they were spotted loading about two tonnes of palm oil into a lorry at an oil palm plantation in Batu 21, Bukit Katong Rim, last night.
The suspects, aged 24 and 22, were detained during a raid at about 12.30am by officers and personnel from the Jasin District Police Headquarters Criminal Investigation Division (BSJ) with assistance from Jasin Police Station personnel.
Jasin district police chief Superintendent Lee Robert said police received a report from a 58-year-old plantation manager after being informed by workers about the incident at around 7.45pm.
He said the workers monitored the situation from a distance before noticing an unidentified yellow Isuzu lorry entering the plantation area, which covers about 8.1 hectares.
Initial investigations found that the suspects had allegedly entered the plantation without the owner’s permission before taking the oil palm fruits and loading them into the lorry.
Acting on the information received, police launched a raid at the location and successfully detained both men believed to be involved in the activity.
Lee said police seized the lorry containing about two tonnes of oil palm fruits, estimated to be worth more than RM9,360 based on current market prices.
Authorities also confiscated two metal harvesting poles and a sickle believed to have been used in the alleged theft.
He added that inspections at the scene confirmed signs of palm fruit harvesting activities that were believed to have been carried out without the plantation owner’s consent.
Checks revealed that the seized lorry was registered under a company owned by one of the suspects.
Both suspects have no previous criminal records, while urine screening tests showed they were negative for drugs. They have been remanded for three days until August 3 to assist investigations under Section 379 of the Penal Code.
Police are continuing investigations to determine whether other individuals were involved in the alleged palm oil theft operation.
