Raid at Kuala Betis
The General Operations Force (GOF) seized equipment worth RM1.135 million believed to have been used for illegal gold mining and arrested four men, including a Chinese national, in a raid at the Kuala Betis Resettlement Scheme (RPS) in Gua Musang, Kelantan, on Saturday (Aug 22).
Southeast Brigade commander SAC Ahmad Radzi Hussain said the raid, conducted at about 4pm, was carried out by the brigade's intelligence team under Ops Gali Mega (Eastern Zone).
Checks at the site uncovered two excavators, sluice boxes, suction machines, generator sets, 51 pieces of grass carpet in various sizes, and three rolls of grass carpet, all believed to have been used in the gold mining operation, he said in a statement on Sunday (Aug 23).
Permit misuse alleged
According to Ahmad Radzi, one of the suspects produced a copy of an application for a permit to extract sand from Sungai Nenggiri, Mukim Kuala Betis, dated January 31, 2024. Preliminary checks found that the permit was believed to have been misused to carry out gold mining activities, he added.
The commander said no minerals or raw gold were found at the site. The case is being investigated under Section 158 of the Enactment of Minerals (Kelantan) 2001.
All the seized equipment has been handed over to the Kelantan Land and Mines Office for further action.
The raid was carried out by the GOF's Southeast Brigade intelligence team, as confirmed by both Malay Mail and The Star, which quoted Ahmad Radzi's statement. The two outlets reported the same details regarding the value of the equipment, the number of arrests, the location, and the suspected misuse of the permit.
The statement was attributed to commander Ahmad Radzi Hussain, who provided the information to the media on Sunday.