BUTTERWORTH: It is hard to miss a group of men waiting outside the Penang Road Transport Department (RTD) office here.
Dressed like office workers, they are known as tontos, thugs hired by transport operators who flout the law to shadow enforcement teams on the move.
Once they see officers in RTD cars leaving, they start tailing them, using walkie-talkies and mobile phones to update lorry drivers on the enforcement team’s movement.
The RTD knows this and even
call them their “evil twins”, but they can only watch in frustration as the law does not allow them to arrest tontos.
On Friday, the New Sunday Times took a ride in an RTD four-wheel drive and witnessed the tontos openly tailing them from a distance.
The tontos, mostly on motorcycles, and some in cars, rode beside the officers and parked at a safe distance as officers flagged down commercial vehicles for checks.
They work in groups, replacing each other in different locations but keeping track of the enforcement team.
State RTD director Noorul Habib Abdul Guduse likened the touts to “a pain in the neck” and revealed the department had identified at least 60 people who worked in pairs, tailing enforcement vehicles.
Noorul said the tontos switched teams to avoid detection, but on RTD’s part, its team also tried to find ways to outwit the tontos.
“The only good thing is that they never harassed us. They just shadow us to alert the operators, unlike those in other states who have resorted to violence and harassment,” he said.
On Oct 7, a four wheel-drive driven by a tonto working for smugglers had rammed into a Customs vehicle, causing it to skid and ram a tree in Kampung Banggol Chicha in Pasir Mas, Kelantan.
The impact of the crash killed senior Customs officer Anisah Ali, 54. She was one of three officers in the patrol car in hot pursuit of two vans suspected of being laden with smuggled cigarettes in the 1.25am incident.
Police have identified the tonto, who is believed to have fled with his three accomplices to a neighbouring country.
Noorul said tontos were paid to inform tipper lorry operators, not only on the enforcement team’s movement, but also on roadblocks or operations.
“In fact, we have operations every day and they tail us whenever our vehicles leave the office,” he said, adding that there were times their operations failed.
Noorul said plans were being drawn to hold joint operations with the police, National Anti-Drugs Agency (AADK) and Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to nab tontos.
Only the police can make arrests, but enforcement agencies will not have qualms if they were given powers to arrest.
RTD director-general Datuk Nadzri Siron had said they would usually report the presence of tontos to the police.
He also said studies and discussions were needed on the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services call to give enforcers power to arrest tontos.