TAWAU: The police will change the strategy to curbing kidnap-for-ransom by focusing on smuggling activities instead and will propose to suspend barter trade boats coming into the state that seem to be funding kidnap-for-ransom activities.
Sabah Commissioner of Police Datuk Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman said he was stressing on smuggling as it had a connection with kidnap-for-ransom by funding the latter through protection means and fuel.
He said barter trade boats were the cause as after the curfew was imposed, syndicates changed strategy by using barter trade boats to smuggle cigarettes, fuel and other goods.
Tthough barter trade is legal, he said it had been abused and gave an example of export goods being transferred while at sea.
Jalaluddin said he would propose for barter trade activities to be suspended in the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCom) areas as the syndicates have their chain which has been identified.
He said there were agents who channeled information and gave green light to smugglers as well as paid protection money.
He added the information would definitely be used by kidnap-for-ransom groups and the smuggled fuel would be used, for example, in the Philippines.
On October 18, he said a barter trade boat was caught smuggling in RM10.5 million worth of cigarettes from the Philippines, the biggest seizure in the country this year – and another RM18,000 worth of diesel, while the latest was a barter trade boat smuggling diesel worth RM180,000 to Indonesia which was caught.
He added that seven men aged between 27 and 42 were detained and charged in court.