Authorities crippled the operations of an illegal factory processing electronic waste (e-waste) in the Gurun industrial area, Kedah, following a raid yesterday that led to the seizure of items worth RM71.8 million.
Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) Commander Senior Assistant Commissioner Rosli Md Yusof said the 11 a.m. raid was carried out based on intelligence gathered by the FRU Intelligence Division at Bukit Aman, together with FRU 3 Penang and the Department of Environment (DOE).
He said the surprise raid caught 21 workers off guard, all of whom were detained on the spot.
“Among them, one was a local man, while the other 20 were foreigners from Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, and Myanmar, believed to be working illegally,” he said.
A search of the premises uncovered piles of electrical cables, copper, aluminum, electronic components, and 1,043 jumbo bags filled with plastic.
All detained workers were handed over to the Kuala Muda District Police Headquarters for investigations under the Immigration Act 1959/63. Meanwhile, the DOE in Sungai Petani seized all e-waste materials and equipment for analysis and further investigation under the Environmental Quality Act 1974.
Rosli added that investigations are ongoing to track down the mastermind behind the syndicate, believed to have long profited from the environmentally harmful operation.
