KOTA KINABALU: A boatman jumped into the sea and fled onto the nearby land area when he noticed marine officials conducting patrols off Bum-Bum Island, Semporna, in the wee hours of Monday.
The man was manning a speedboat near the waters off Kg Terusan Hujung, when patrol officials approached to inspect at around 1.45am.
“However, the man jumped into the sea and fled. Our personnel tried to run after him but he had disappeared into the night,” said Sabah Marine Police Commander Asst Comm Ahmad Amri Rahman.
He said when they inspected the ditched boat, they found 11 packages filled with what was believed to be syabu weighing around 11.06kg and worth about RM550,000.
“The items and boat were seized, all totalling around RM578,000,” he said, adding that all confiscated items were taken back to facilitate probes under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
ACP Ahmad said throughout this year so far, they have recorded 15 drug related cases with 24 arrests made and more than RM718,000 in seizures done.
He said Sabah marine cops will boost their intel gathering and conduct more patrols with other units in the force to curb crime including drug smuggling and other activities that could harm the safety and wellbeing of the community.
