GOF Cripples Major e-waste Ring In Johor Raid

SEGAMAT, July 23 (Bernama) -- The 5th Battalion of the General Operations Force (GOF) in Simpang Renggam has crippled a syndicate involved in the processing of electronic waste (e-waste) during a raid on a premises in Jalan Batu Anam, Buloh Kasap, here, with seizures valued at RM190 million.

Commanding officer Supt Salehin Sulaiman said the joint operation conducted on June 16 with the Department of Environment (DOE), Immigration Department, and Segamat Municipal Council found that the syndicate had been active for about a year.

He said the operation, dubbed ‘Op Hazard 2.0’, resulted in the arrest of 56 individuals, including two locals — a lorry driver and a female clerk employed at the premises.

“The seized items include approximately 5,920 tonnes of e-waste; 9.45 tonnes of various plastics; 1,031 tonnes of metal; 23 forklifts; 42 machines and a trailer lorry, with the total seizure amounting to RM190,715,900.

“These arrests and seizures have successfully crippled a syndicate network involved in scrap and e-waste processing, particularly in the Segamat district,” he said in a statement today.

Meanwhile, in a separate operation, GOF’s 5th Battalion detained 25 illegal immigrants during a raid at an oil palm plantation in Ladang Tumbuk, Selangor, at about 6.30 am on April 14.

Salehin said the arrests involved 16 men and nine women who were believed to have just arrived via an unregulated sea route and failed to produce valid identification documents.

“All of them were handed over to the Kuala Langat District Police Headquarters (IPD) for further action under the Immigration Act 1959/63,” he said.

-- BERNAMA