Saturday August 14, 2004 - SEREMBAN: An attempt to illegally siphon offcrude palm oil by trailer drivers was foiled when police caught sevenpeople near the Mantin-Kajang trunk road here on Thursday.

Seven trailers, including two three-tonne vehicles were also seized duringthe 11am ambush at a secluded site off the 13km stretch of the trunk road.

OCPD Asst Comm Mohamad Abdullah said the drivers were responsible fordelivering the consignments from Sepang to an oil palm mill in Semenyih.

Instead of doing this, he said, they made a detour to the place inside asecondary jungle, to siphon part of the palm oil into drums.

We are investigating how long the drivers have been carrying out thisunlawful activity, he said on Thursday, adding that each drum could fetchup to RM160.

ACP Mohamad said the seven were aged between 23 and 40, and two of themwere foreigners.

Police, he added, were investigating the case under Section 407 of thePenal Code, which carries a jail sentence of up to 10 years and whippingupon conviction.

He added that the seized vehicles and palm oil were later brought back tothe district police headquarters in Seremban Two.