KUANTAN: Enforcement officers inspecting a sand mine near here stumbled on an illegal bauxite mine yesterday when they sent up a drone to get an aerial view of the area.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail said three Pahang enforcement unit (UPNP) members were inspecting the site near Sungai Baging and Sungai Ular about 6pm yesterday when they launched the drone.
"They spotted bauxite mining near the Malaysia China Kuantan Industrial Park and Sungai Ular.
"They immediately went to the site and instructed a lorry driver there to furnish documents for the mining but the man failed. The department seized four tipper trucks and two excavators at the site," he said in a statement today.
Wan Rosdy 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 up to RM500,000.
It is learnt that the lorry driver was released after questioning and no information on the fate of others at the site was available.
A statewide bauxite mining moratorium was imposed in 2016 and rescinded on March 31, 2019.
The temporary ban enforced was following unregulated mining which resulted in widespread environmental damage, including contaminated water sources.
The Pahang Enforcement Elite Team was set up in 2021 to curb illegal logging and mining.