TAWAU: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) arrested two skippers in separate cases on Tuesday after they hid 900 litres of petrol and diesel among food items off the waters here.
The cases were detected within less than an hour of one another.
Tawau Maritime Zone Director Shahrizan Raman said the arrests were made by patrol teams on “Ops Sejahtera” and “Ops Pluto Timur” duties.
The first arrest was made at 5.50pm when the team stopped a boat with a 35-year-old Indonesian skipper heading towards Pulau Sebatik.
Inspections on the boat revealed 12 gallons of petrol, estimated to be 300 litres, among other goods.
The second case involved a cargo boat near the Tawau Port at 6.30pm the same day.
The team detained the boat’s 32-year-old local skipper.
Inspections on the boat led to the discovery of five gallons of petrol and 19 gallons of diesel, totalling 600 litres, among other items.
Both skippers were found without permit to transport the controlled items.
The total seizures, including the cargo boats and outboard engines, were worth RM60,000.
Shahrizan said the MMEA will continue to reinforce enforcement duties to combat such violations and encouraged anyone with information to call the Tawau Maritime Zone Operations Centre at 089-752116 or MERS 999.
