Its minister Armizan Mohd Ali said some of the petrol station operators have also been harassed by gangsters, Utusan Malaysia reported.

He said his ministry had received multiple reports on the matter, whether directly or through petrol companies.

“The smugglers’ modus operandi is quite sophisticated, and is understood to involve gangsters, thugs and the like.

“So we are gathering information, including by cooperating with the police and petrol companies. We want to prevent this problem from becoming systemic,” he told a press conference on the implementation of the “fleet card” usage under the subsidised diesel control system 2.0.

Armizan also said that several petrol station operators were reluctant to report the threats out of fear for their own safety, as well as that of their staff and premises.

“We cannot let this happen, and one of the risk management measures that we want to implement is the targeted subsidies.

“So for the petrol station operators, they will be free from the risk of having to deal with syndicates who wish to buy the diesel at subsidised rates in order to smuggle them across borders,” he added.

He said his ministry would carry out enforcement measures more aggressively to curb the leakage and smuggling of diesel.