JOHOR BARU: There has been an increase in attempts by smuggling syndicates to encroach into the country’s territorial waters since April, said Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Director-General Admiral Maritime Datuk Mohd Zubil Mat Som.
He said such activities were detected between 8pm and 4am daily.
“After the reopening of the country’s economy, we detect an increase in attempts to encroach into the country’s borders every night, yet the majority of them were foiled.
“Through the enforcement carried out, the majority of these attempts were either stopped or they turned back after the boat they boarded detected by the authorities,” he told a press conference after the handover ceremony of three units of Rigid Hull Fender Boats (RHFB) at the Stulang Laut International Ferry terminal, here, Saturday.
He said such criminal activities were expected due to the supply and demand in the local market involving the shortage of manpower in certain sectors including plantations and services.
“The main target of this smuggling syndicate are the states in the southern part of the country, namely Johor, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan due to the narrow sea passage. However, we detected an attempt to smuggle in through a northern state Penang recently,” he said.
Mohd Zubil said from January to June 10, MMEA had cracked down on various cross-border criminal activities with seizures worth more than RM55.8 million.
He said a total of 442 arrests, among others, involving encroachment of foreign fishing boats, smuggling of immigrants and contraband as well as ships anchored without permission were made through 76,026 inspections carried out during the period.
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