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SANDAKAN: Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) detained a wood-hulled boat believed to be smuggling controlled items to a neighbouring country without proper declaration documents.

Sandakan Maritime Zone Director Muhamad Suhairy Hussain said the vessel was intercepted during a Sunday night operation about 0.8 nautical miles off Tanjung Aru waters.

Eight foreign crew members aged between 27 and 50, along with six passengers aged 16 to 41, were onboard and unable to produce valid travel documents.

Authorities also discovered a large cargo of controlled goods, including 250 drums of petrol, 15 drums of diesel, and 120 gas cylinders of various brands, worth nearly RM830,000.

The case is being investigated under three laws relating to supply control, merchant shipping, and immigration, with Suhairy encouraging the public to report maritime crimes to Sandakan Maritime Operations Centre or emergency line 999.