Paul (third left) and his men in a photo call with the confiscated items.
LIMBANG: Four men who tried to escape to Long Bawan, Indonesia after stumbling upon General Operation Force (GOF) personnel in Ba Kelalan on Sunday had led to the discovery of the rampant smuggling activities here.
GOF commander here, ASP Paul Paren Ibau, said in the 8.30pm incident, four men on three motorcycles fled the scene after seeing his men and sped away in the direction of Long Bawan.
“The GOF personnel gave chase and caught up with them. The suspects then led our men to a place by the roadside where they hid items that included five drums containing 150 litres of subsidised diesel, a shotgun and two cartridges,” he told reporters yesterday.
Paul said the items were confiscated and brought to the Lawas police station for further investigation.
Sunday’s discovery was among the successes achieved by the force since an integrated enforcement was carried out after it was highlighted by The Borneo Post on April 26 of the rampant smuggling of subsidised goods from Ba Kelalan to Indonesia.
Four vehicles with a total of 4,330 litres of subsidised diesel were intercepted at Puneng Kelalan road in Ba Kelalan during a GOF-led operation at 3am on July 1.
Also confiscated were four LPG cylinders while four drivers, aged between 24 and 44 all from Trusan, were caught while on their way to Long Bawan.
In June, Lawas District Police chief DSP Abang Zainal Abidin Abang Ahmad said that GOF and police personnel foiled two attempted smuggling cases, also in the Ba Kelalan area.
On June 20, five LPG cylinders, 15 gallons of diesel and six gallons of petrol were confiscated near the Ba Kelalan Immigration Post, which were about to be sent to Indonesia.
Two days later, a 28-year-old suspect from Sundar was detained for allegedly wanting to smuggle a four-wheel-drive vehicle from Ba Kelalan to Indonesia. The vehicle was reported stolen in Inanam, Sabah on June 15.
All the cases have been referred to the Ministry of Domestic Trade Cooperatives and Consumerism for further actions.