Northern brigade commander, Balveer Singh Mahindar Singh, said the suspects comprised a local man believed to be the caretaker of the premises, as well as four Bangladeshi nationals and two Nepalese nationals believed to be workers at the site.

He said the raid, conducted at about 3pm, was carried out by the intelligence branch of the brigade’s 18th Battalion in collaboration with the Kulim environment department (DOE).

“Inspections found that the premises had installed and operated several plastic processing facilities without any notification or approval from the DOE,” he said in a statement today.

“The raiding team also discovered a large quantity of plastic stockpiles, both unprocessed and processed, as well as several machines used in the processing activities.”

Various machines used for processing plastic, as well as three forklifts, were also seized, with the total value of confiscated items estimated at more than RM20 million.

Initial investigations found that the premises had been operating for more than nine years, with plastic waste materials sourced from the Klang Valley.

The facilities were used to process plastic materials, with the processed plastic pellets subsequently exported overseas.

The 35-year-old local man is being investigated under Section 55B of the Immigration Act 1959/63 for employing illegal immigrants.

Meanwhile, the Bangladeshi and Nepalese men, aged between 22 and 46, are being investigated under Regulation 39(b) of the Immigration Regulations 1963.

The case has been handed over to the Kulim DOE for investigation under Section 34A of the Environmental Quality Act 1974 for failure to submit a report on the environmental impact of the plastic processing activities.