Teen skipper, crew held for ferrying nine illegals
Published on: Friday, January 18, 2019
TAWAU: A teenage local boat skipper and his crew were arrested for allegedly ferrying nine illegal immigrants in Tawau Port waters at about 3pm on Wednesday.
Sabah Region 4 Marine Police Commander ACP Mohamad Pajeri Ali said the speedboat was detected by the Marine Intelligence Unit travelling towards Tawau Port from the direction of Sungai Haji Kuning.
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“Our team found the boat was handled by a local, 18, and crew, 16, who had no identification documents.
They were ferrying nine passengers believed to be Indonesians,” he said.
“They comprised five men, two women and two girls, aged between nine and 74.”
Mohamad Pajeri said all the detainees were taken to the Tawau Marine Police Operations Base for further action.
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A fibreglass boat and a 60hp outboard engine worth RM28,000 were confiscated from them.
The case is being investigated under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007.
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About two hours later, marine police detained another local teenager and a 40-year-old undocumented man for alleged drug possession also in Tawau Port waters.
Mohamad Pajeri said the team detained the 17-year-old while he was skippering a boat with the man on board.
The speedboat was headed towards Sungai Haji Kuning from the old Customs, Immigration and Quarantine jetty.
“During a search, we found one green plastic straw containing crystalline substances believed to be syabu and a tin foil for drug taking in a folded white paper. It was kept in a sling bag,” he said.
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