Esscom heads multi-agency anti-crime operation in Semporna

Esscom personnel checking a water village.

KOTA KINABALU: A three-day blitz to weed out illegal immigrants and cross-border crime has been conducted in Sabah’s east coast Semporna district.

The operation, which started on June 20, and involved several government agencies, was targeting settlements resided by illegal immigrants.

Besides the town areas, the operation was also carried out at squatter villages such as Kampung Perigi, Kampung Musalah, Kampung Bangau-Bangau, Kampung Sekolah Kebangsaan Pekan Dua and a reflexology centre.

Newly minted Eastern Sabah Command (Esscom) commander Deputy Comm Victor Sanjos said the exercise was not merely to flush out undocumented migrants but also aimed at preventing cross-border crime in the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (Esszone).

"We inspected 74 houses and premises, and screened 1,166 people in the process," he said on Saturday (June 24).

This had led to the arrest of seven men for various immigration violations, he added.

"In addition to this, an exercise to combat illegal power connections was also carried out at the same time where 45kg of electrical cables along with 37 illegal power poles, estimated to be worth some RM1,805, were seized," he added.

DCP Sanjos said the Road Transport Department (JPJ) had also issued six summonses to motorists for various traffic offenses.

"At the same time, Esscom also coordinated the Pondohan crime prevention operation in the Sangaban waters led by Semporna police headquarters," he said.

Towards this end, he said, Esscom, with the help of other agencies, would continue with this exercise in the future to ensure the peace, security and well-being of the local community as well as tourists.

DCP Sanjos extended his appreciation to the 150 officers and personnel involved in the operation including the police, Armed Forces, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, Immigration Department, National Registration Department, Rela, Sabah Electricity, Health Ministry, Customs Department and JPJ, among others.

He urged those with information to incidents that might jeopardise the peace and security of the area to contact the Esscom operations centre at 089-863 181 or through Whatsapp at 011-6331 1072.