KOTA KINABALU: A pump boat with fish bombing equipment was seized by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) at Pulau Gaya here on Sunday.
MMEA officers found ammonium powder inside a plastic bottle and a snorkelling set on the vessel without a registration number.
Prior to that, the MMEA team on patrol duty had spotted a suspicious boat at around 11.40pm on Saturday and gave chase when the boat suddenly sped off.
“The boat then stopped at Kampung Air Pondor, about 0.2 nautical miles off Pulau Gaya before the skipper and the crewmen jumped into the sea, swam ashore and fled into the village,” said Kota Kinabalu MMEA director First Admiral Adam Aziz.
In a statement released today, he said the boat has been taken to the APMM jetty here for further investigation.
“We take this matter seriously and we will continue to carry out more operations in the area and its surroundings.
“MMEA also welcome the cooperation and information from the public in helping the agency in combating this illegal activity,” said Adam.