KOTA KINABALU: Maritime officials are keeping a close watch on runners smuggling petrol out of the country.
This follows the arrest of a suspected runner, believed to be ferrying petrol without a permit out of Sabah in Tawau waters, on Saturday (Jan 5).
The suspect, a 24-year-old local, was spotted on a speedboat near Pulau Tiga, Tawau at 9.55pm.
“Maritime officials (stopped him) for inspection (and) discovered 250 litres of petrol... believed to be smuggled,” Tawau maritime zone director Maritime Capt Shahrizan Raman said on Monday (Jan 6).
He said the suspect, boat and items were taken to the Tawau maritime jetty for further investigation under the Control of Supplies Act 1961 and Ports and Harbours Enactment 2002.
“We do not rule out the presence of more of these runners (in small numbers) operating quietly in and out of Tawau, and are taking strict measures to put an end to these illegal activities,” he added.
Capt Shahrizan said throughout last year, 9,187 vessel inspections were conducted in the Tawau zone with 108 arrests made for various offences.
The total seizures came to RM12.2mil, he said, the highest in decades.
He said Tawau's location close to the border with Indonesia made it challenging for security officials to curb such activities.
Capt Shahrizan noted that only one search and rescue operation was conducted in the Tawau zone last year, and attributed this to safety campaigns conducted for local communities.
“We will continue to enforce laws and optimise operations to curb crime in Tawau, especially in areas under the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (Esszone),” he said, calling for all locals and the maritime community to work with security forces in maintaining safety.
The Tawau Maritime Operations Centre may be contacted at 089-752116 or 999 for any information or questions on security or emergency matters, he added.
