KUDAT: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) foiled an attempt to smuggle foreign nationals into Sabah on Thursday.
Kudat Maritime Zone director Hasbullah Omar said the operation was based on information from the Sabah Swasla radar, which was tracked by an MMEA patrol boat at about 6.30pm.
He said the boat refused to stop when approached, prompting a short chase before it was intercepted about 10.22 nautical miles west of Tanjung Kalutan, near the waters off Pulau Balambangan, Banggi.
window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []};googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.defineSlot('/22826383987/dailyexpress_inline', [1, 1], 'gpt-passback').addService(googletag.pubads());googletag.enableServices();googletag.display('gpt-passback');});Checks found a skipper, a crew member and eight passengers — four women and four men aged between 19 and 40 — on board, and the vessel was escorted to the Kudat Marina jetty for investigation under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 and Immigration Act 1959/63.
Hasbullah urged the maritime community in Kudat waters to work with the authorities to combat smuggling and cross-border crime, and to report any such activity via the Kudat Operations Centre at 088-611858 or the 24-hour emergency line 999.
