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TAWAU: Authorities seized assets and equipment worth an estimated RM21 million from a block ice production factory in Batu 3 Jalan Apas on Saturday after it was suspected of operating without the required approvals and licences.

The integrated operation was led by Tawau PGA Battalion 14 Intelligence Branch Risk Officer ASP Mohd Rafail Rabbahil, involving nine members of the PGA Tawau Risk Branch Task Force, environmental health officers from the Tawau Health Office and representatives from the Tawau Municipal Council (MPT).

A raid and inspection at the premises resulted in the detention of a 28-year-old local man believed to be the factory manager, while authorities also discovered a chiller containing block ice believed to have been produced for sale in the Tawau and Semporna markets.

Among the items seized were two block ice-making machines, an ice-crushing machine, two cooling towers, water storage tanks and other equipment suspected to have been used in the production process, with operators reportedly unable to produce licences or approvals authorising the manufacture and sale of block ice.

Further inspections found the premises had failed to display a business signboard as required under local authority regulations, while the Tawau Health Office opened an investigation under Regulation 394(A)(4) of the Food Regulations 1985, issued a RM2,500 compound and ordered the seizure of the factory's operations and related equipment, with MPT also issuing a first warning notice to the premises owner.