SEMPORNA: Marine police have detained a Myanmar citizen for attempting to smuggle out 17 containers of petrol oil in waters off Omadal island near here on Tuesday.
Sabah Marine police chief Mohamad Mandun said that during a patrol at about 3.30pm, officers spotted a speedboat in the area. Their suspicions were raised and the boat was flagged down and boarded for inspection.
“They found seventeen containers of petrol, amounting to 510 litres, hidden at the front part of the boat.
“The 37 year-old man was unable to provide valid documents from the Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism ministry to carry controlled items,” he said.
Mohamad added that police seized the 40-horsepower boat worth RM28,400 and petrol valued at RM867 for further investigation.
Eastern Sabah Security Command had last week revealed that cross-border criminals from the southern Philippines and surrounding islands were among the main buyers of smuggled fuel from Sabah.
Some of the smuggled diesel and petrol are being used to commit crimes such as kidnapping, robbery and human trafficking in the waters off Malaysia, especially along the east coast of Sabah, the Philippines and Indonesia.
Authorities have been constantly on their guard to foil smugglers in an effort to break the supply chain.
Meanwhile, in Sandakan, marine police detained 37 Filipinos for attempting to illegally enter the district early this week.