Elan Perumal and Stuart Michael The Star 22 Jun 11;
JOHOR BARU: After a hiatus of several months, sand thieves have returned with a vengeance to continue mining sand worth hundreds of millions of ringgit which is shipped off to Singapore.
The sandmen have expanded their activity along Sungai Johor, ignoring a national ban on the export of sand and despite a clampdown by the authorities last year.
Starprobe recently followed the trail of the illegal activity, which started from a jetty in Kota Tinggi, Johor, to Ulu Tiram, about 20km away, before the sand was loaded on to lorries after the washing process was completed.
The sand is transported to several barges, each with a capacity of up to 4,000 tonnes. Some of the barges and tugboats were registered in Singapore.
Probe into sand mining
The Star/Asia News Network Asia One 23 Jun 11;
PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) will carry out investigations into the alleged illegal sand mining at Sungai Johor to ascertain if corruption was involved.
"Those involved in corrupt practices will be taken to task," MACC director of investigation Datuk Mustafa Ali said.
It is learnt that state authorities had been investigating the illegal activities that allegedly had been taking place at Sungai Johor.
Sources said the state viewed the allegations seriously.
It is learnt that the state had issued permits to several people to carry out legitimate sand mining and would check on the activities being carried out by unscrupulous operators at Sungai Johor.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Mari-time Enforcement Agency has de-ployed its vessels to monitor the situation at Sungai Johor following The Star's front page report yesterday on the return of sand thieves in the area.
