Illegal items: MMEA personnel onboard the cargo boat with the suspects during an operation near Wallace Bay jetty, off Sebatik Island.
KOTA KINABALU: Smugglers tried to sneak in contraband alcohol by hiding the items underneath grocery supplies in Sabah’s east coast Tawau district.
However, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) managed to thwart their attempt during an operation near Wallace Bay jetty, off Sebatik Island on Saturday.
Tawau MMEA director Kpt Shahrizan Raman said their vessel had spotted a cargo boat moving some 0.1 nautical miles northeast of the jetty at 10pm.
After a brief chase, he said, their men managed to intercept the boat operated by a 35-year-old local man who was assisted by another man, aged 32.
“Following an inspection, we found 26 boxes containing 312 bottles of various brands of liquor that were kept in plastic gunny sacks and placed under a pile of grocery items,” he said yesterday.
“The suspects could not produce any manifest or document that listed the liquor as permitted cargo.
“The seized items including the boat are valued at more than RM50,000,” he said, adding the suspects are being probed under the Customs Act 1967.
Besides hiding the contraband items under the grocery supplies, Kpt Shahrizan said the smugglers transported a moderate quantity of liquor bottles to avoid drawing the attention of the authorities.
In light of incidents like this, he stressed that the MMEA takes cross-border criminal activities seriously and will intensify its presence at hotspots to prevent such issues.
The public is encouraged to report any crimes as well as emergency incidents to the Tawau MMEA operations centre at 089-750 116 or the Malaysia Emergency Response Services 999 hotline.
