GUA MUSANG: A factory that has been processing charcoal illegally over the last eight months was raided by the state Forestry Department, recently.
Kelantan Forestry director, Abdul Khalim Abu Samah, said in the raid on Wednesday, the Forestry officers seized more than 130 tonnes of high-quality charcoal worth about RM500,000.
However, he said no one was arrested in the 11.30am raid at the Gua Musang industrial area.
"A Forestry team went to the factory following tip-offs of it being operated without a licence, and raided the premises.
"Upon checking, they found many boxes, gunny sacks and iron baskets containing the charcoal, all weighing about 130 tonnes.
"There was no one in the factory when the raid was carried out. The officers also saw that several charcoal kilns had been built on the premises," he told a press conference today.
Khalim said the factory, together with several machines used to transport the charcoal, was sealed.
He said initial investigations showed that the charcoal was being prepared for export to countries such as Australia, Kuwait and Turkey.
"We believe the charcoal was for the local market as well," he said.
Khalim said the operator of the factory would be called soon for questioning.