The ministry’s enforcement director-general, Azman Adam, said the operation covered six main commodities – diesel, RON95 petrol, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), sugar, cooking oil, and flour.

“To date, 6,773 cases have been recorded with 2,219 people arrested, including witnesses and accused persons. Nearly 80% of them are Malaysians,” he said, according to Bernama.

Azman said the fourth phase of the operation started on March 16, with 377 cases recorded, 107 people arrested, and controlled goods worth nearly RM17 million confiscated within the first month.

Cases involving diesel accounted for the highest number in that period, with 166 cases under investigation and 1.126 million litres of the fuel seized.

This was followed by 78 cases linked to petrol, involving 31,931 litres of RON95, and 49 cases involving LPG canisters.

Azman said the authorities have started using technology, including artificial intelligence, to monitor fuel usage patterns and identify cases like supply anomalies at petrol stations or unusual spikes in fleet card transactions.