SANDAKAN: Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (Maritim Malaysia) detained a speedboat carrying 15 barrels containing 375 litres of petrol without a valid permit on Tuesday afternoon.
Maritime Zone Director, Captain Zainudin Mohd Zuki, said the speedboat was spotted by a patrol boat in the Sandakan waters.
Maritime personnel ordered the speedboat to stop for inspection, he said, but it sped off throwing 15 barrels suspected of containing petrol into the sea.
“The boat headed to shallow waters near the mainland to escape,” he said in a statement Wednesday.
He said the boat with a 40-horsepower outboard engine did not have a registration number.
The total value of the seizure which includes controlled items, outboard engine and the boat was estimated at RM16,000.
They were brought to the Maritime Zone Jetty and handed over to the investigating officer.
The case is investigated under the Supply Control Act 1961.
In a separate case on Monday, the Maritime Zone detained a local fishing boat suspected of violating the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952 as the name of the skipper is not the same as the name in the boat’s licence.
