KOTA BHARU: A total of 6,000 pandan coconut and honey guava saplings believed to have been smuggled from Thailand were seized along with a lorry in a raid at Kampung Gual Tok Deh, Rantau Panjang, Pasir Mas, yesterday.
General Operations Force (GOF) Southeast Brigade commander SAC Ahmad Radzi Hussain said the 10 am seizure was carried out by a team from the Task Force and Intelligence Unit of the 8th Battalion of the GOF Pengkalan Chepa during a patrol under Op Taring Wawasan Kelantan.
He said an inspection of the white Isuzu lorry found it carrying 3,000 pandan coconut saplings and 3,000 honey guava saplings, while the 54-year-old driver failed to produce any documents for the saplings.
“The suspect was detained and the lorry and saplings seized before being taken to the Komtak in Taman Bakti, Rantau Panjang for further action,” he said in a statement last night.
He said the lorry was estimated to be worth RM100,000, the pandan coconut saplings RM90,000 and the honey guava saplings RM60,000, bringing the total value of the seizure to RM250,000.
“The case has been handed over to the Kota Bharu Agriculture Department for further action under Section 5 of the Plant Quarantine Act 1976 (Act 167).
“Initial investigations found that the man admitted to being involved in the activity for the past two years and acting as a driver for a Thai national known as Salleh,” he said, adding that the suspect was to receive RM100 for each delivery of saplings to a nursery in Pasir Mas. -BERNAMA
