Details of the raid
The raid on July 15 was the culmination of a multi-agency operation between the Royal Malaysia Police, the Department of Environment, and the Inland Revenue Board after a week-long surveillance. Within the unlicensed plant, authorities found stacks of aluminium ingots on pallets, smelted from an enormous collection of waste electronics.
It might have been destined for China, where regulation changes have created high illicit demand. Melaka police chief Datuk Dzulkhairi Mukhtar said, "This factory is believed to have been involved in dismantling and melting electronic components to produce aluminium ingots."
The authorities also discovered unprocessed raw materials such as remote controls, circuit boards, and CCTV cameras waiting to be processed. During the raid, 25 foreign workers from China, Bangladesh, and Myanmar were arrested for questioning. Attempts are ongoing to find the owner of the factory.
