Sunken scheme: The seized speedboat and its cargo of gas cylinders seen at the Tawau port area.
KOTA KINABALU: Marine police foiled an attempt to smuggle 35 subsidised cooking gas cylinders to a neighbouring country.
A 23-year-old local man, believed to be the owner of a speedboat loaded with the gas cylinders, was arrested at the Tawau port area by a marine police patrol unit at 3.30pm on Wednesday.
Marine police Region 4 Commander Asst Comm Nazri Ibrahim said the man did not have a permit issued by the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry for the subsidised gas cylinders.
“We found the gas cylinders covered with canvas,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Police seized the speedboat and gas cylinders with an estimated value of RM39,250.
ACP Nazri said his unit would keep a close watch to deter smuggling.
Tawau is located near the Nunukan area of the Indonesian province of Kalimantan.
Smuggling of subsidised gas cylinders has at times led to shortages in Sabah’s east coast Tawau district.
