TAWAU: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has foiled two attempts to smuggle out of Tawau 150 cylinders of cooking gas, a controlled item.
Tawau MMEA chief of enforcement Capt Wan Mohd Affandi Wan Ahmad said yesterday the cylinders were seized from two boats offshore Tawau on Monday.
One boat, with a 39-year-old Malaysian skipper, was carrying 100 cylinders when it was inspected about 1.8 nautical miles from the Batu-Batu jetty at 2.20 pm as it was heading for Sungai Melayu, Pulau Sebatik, he said in a statement.
“The inspection revealed that one of the crew, a 16-year-old boy, did not have identification documents,” he said, adding that the skipper and the crew were detained.
Wan Affandi said another vessel, with a 42-year-old Indonesian man as the skipper, was carrying 50 cylinders without any valid documents when it was checked about two nautical miles off the Batu-Batu jetty at 2.50 pm.
He said the skipper of the boat, the licence of the which had expired, was detained.
Wan Affandi said the MMEA in Tawau would step up efforts to curtail the smuggling out of controlled items to ensure that there was no shortage of the goods in Tawau.
Complaints or information on maritime offences can be channelled through the 24-hour hotline 089-752115, he added. — Bernama