KUANTAN: Yesterday, six people were arrested for their alleged involvement in illegal bauxite mining activities at a site in the state capital.
The Pahang enforcement unit (UPNP) elite team also seized three tipper trucks and two excavators at the site during the 2.15pm raid.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail said during its surveillance in Kuantan; eight UPNP members spotted the alleged mineral mining activities in the respective area.
"They went closer and kept tab of things at the site. The UPNP members spotted the tipper trucks and excavators. They suspected illegal mining activities involving bauxite minerals were conducted at the site.
"They ambushed the mining operations and caught the workers by surprise. When they asked the mining operator to produce documents or permits for transporting the minerals, the man did not have them," he said in a statement today.
He said the lorries and machinery were seized under Section 158 of the State Mineral Enactment 2001 for conducting mining without a license or lease. The offence carries a fine of up to RM500,000.
It is learnt that the six men believed to be the lorry drivers, excavator operators and a mining owner were released after questioning.
Wan Rosdy affirmed that the Pahang government would not take any illegal land encroachment activities lightly throughout the state and that the UPNP team would go the extra mile to end such activities at all times.
On July 6, UPNP members stumbled on an illegal bauxite mine when they sent up a drone to get an aerial view of the area near the Malaysia China Kuantan Industrial Park and Sungai Ular in Gebeng here.
The department seized four tipper trucks and two excavators at the site.
The Pahang Enforcement Elite Team was set up in 2021 to curb illegal logging and mining.