KUDAT: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) here thwarted a fuel smuggling operation on Saturday when it intercepted 6,000 litres of petrol bound for the Philippines.
Kudat Maritime Zone Director Hasbullah Omar said their Intelligence Unit detected suspicious activity around 4am.
Advertisement (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});The patrol boat Adal 04, which was conducting security operations in the area, was immediately dispatched to investigate and spotted a pump boat moving slowly about 2.8 nautical miles northwest of Pulau Mandi Darah.
Upon seeing the authorities, two individuals on the vessel jumped into the shallow waters and escaped into nearby mangroves.
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The seized boat and its cargo, valued at around RM60,000 were taken to Marina Jetty for further investigation. The case is being investigated under the Supply Control Act 1961 for transporting controlled goods without valid permits.
AdvertisementThe Kudat Maritime Zone urged the public, particularly the local maritime community, to report any related information to their Operations Centre at 088-611858 or 999.
In TAWAU, the MMEA intercepted a local cargo boat attempting to smuggle 9,600kg of sugar to a neighbouring country in the waters off Batu 3 on Saturday.
AdvertisementTawau Maritime Zone Director, Maritime Capt. Shahrizan Raman, said the vessel was detected by a patrol boat during Op Pluto Timur and Op Tiris at around 8.30am while heading from Sungai Tawau towards the national maritime border.
Initial checks revealed that the cargo boat was operated by a 23-year-old local who was also an employee of the vessel.
He said, a search of the boat led to the discovery of 9,600kg of packaged granulated sugar in 1kg packs.
“The documentation inspection found that the boat operator failed to present any permits for the controlled goods and had not declared the cargo, while his name was also not listed in the boat’s licence,” he said.
The skipper along with the boat and its load was escorted to the Tawau Maritime Zone Jetty for further investigation under the Customs Act 1967, the Control of Supplies Act 1961, and the Sabah Ports and Harbours Enactment (JPDS).
“All seized items, including the cargo boat, boat engine, and goods, were confiscated with an estimated total value of RM60,000,” he said.
He said, Maritim Malaysia would continue to strengthen enforcement efforts to combat illegal activities in Malaysian Maritime Zones, particularly in the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (Esszone).
He emphasised that cooperation with other agencies will be further enhanced to ensure national laws are consistently upheld.
He also urged the maritime community to report any criminal misconduct in the Tawau waters to the Tawau Maritime Zone Operations Centre at 089-752116 or via the emergency line 999.