TAWAU: The attempt by a 22-year-old local to smuggle 17 barrels of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) wrapped in sacks failed when his cargo boat was detained at Sg Melayu estuary at around 6pm on Saturday.
Tawau Maritime Zone Director Maritime Captain Shahrizan Raman said that the Malaysian Maritime Patrol boat which was conducting Ops Sejahtera and Ops Pluto Timur managed to detect the suspect boat which was being suspicious.
“The local cargo boat was moving fast from Tawau Waters towards Sebatik Island... An initial inspection of the boat found it carrying a load of 17 14-kilogram LPG gas barrels wrapped in sacks,” he said.
He said the suspect failed to submit a valid permit and license related to the controlled goods he was transporting, estimated to be worth RM3,600.
Shahrizan said the suspect along with the boat and its cargo were taken to the Tawau Maritime Zone Jetty and handed over to Tawau Maritime Zone investigative officers to be investigated under the Supply Control Act 1961.
He said that all the goods, namely the cargo boat, boat engine and the cargo of confiscated goods, were estimated to be worth RM28,000, including gas barrels worth RM3,600.
Commenting further, he said enforcement measures will continue to be carried out from time to time to combat any activity that violates the law, especially in the waters of Tawau.
He said that Maritime Malaysia takes all cross-border criminal activities seriously and patrol assets will always be ready to move at any time to deal with any situation.
Any information related to crime at sea can be channelled directly to the Tawau Maritime Zone Operations Centre at 089-750116 or MERS 999.
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