TUMPAT: Diesel smugglers operating along the border have modified the fuel tanks of their cars to be able to hold up to 200 litres of fuel.
Pengkalan Kubor Region 3 Marine Police Force commanding officer Assistant Superintendent Akil Abdul Rauf said they had discovered this in series of operations, with the latest case on Thursday.
In the operation in Simpangan, he said more than 400 litres of petrol were seized from two Proton Wiras which had modified their tanks.
"We suspect the smugglers were about to smuggle the fuel out to the neighbouring country when they were seized," he said.
He said smugglers modified their vehicles to enable them to fill as much fuel as they can before sending them via the many illegal jetties along the Golok river.
"They will normally use containers of various sizes to store the fuel, and later into tanks before placing the tanks inside the car's boot.
"They will then use a rubber pipe to channel the fuel from the petrol station pump into the container.
"Our operations also showed that of late, smugglers have turned to RON95 rather than diesel," he added.
He said the Pengkalan Kubor marine police have recorded 93 cases of RON95 smuggling with the seizure of 21,020 litres worth RM39,678.
The cases were recorded from January to June, he said.
During the period, they also recorded 14 cases of diesel smuggling with the seizure of more than 45,000 litres worth RM97,000.
On June 7, Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said smuggling of RON95 to Thailand has grown since April as the fuel is retailing there at three times the price in Malaysia.
He said the rationalisation of the diesel subsidy in Malaysia is also making smugglers switch focus to RON95, as the smugglers realised they could make a bigger profit from the sale of RON95 in Thailand.
The upsurge in the activity has been detected in Kelantan and Kedah.