Seated, Juhar (centre), Liew (left), Lau (right) and the committee members of MCCC Sabah branch take a group photo at the courtesy call.
TAWAU: Marine police seized 500 cartons of smuggled cigarettes worth RM16,750 from a speedboat abandoned by the skipper at Mile 4 sea area yesterday.
Sabah Region Four Marine Police acting commander Supt. Norzaid Mohammad Said disclosed that a marine patrol boat acting on a tip at about 4.10am, patrolled the Mile 4 sea area and saw a speedboat coming from Sg Nyamok, Indonesia heading to Tawau.
He said when the patrol boat tried to get close to the suspicious speedboat, the skipper sped off that led to about a 20-minute chase.
The speedboat overturned and several cartons of cigarettes floated around it, he said.
A man believed to be the skipper was seen swimming towards the seaside and escaped as the tide was low for the marine patrol boat to pursue.
Norzaid said 450 cartons of Premium Gold worth RM15,750 and 50 cartons of Kretek Menara Dunia (RM1,000) were seized along with the speedboat and Yamaha 200hp engine.