LABUAN — The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (Maritime Malaysia) Labuan Maritime Zone successfully foiled an attempt to smuggle 540 cartons of branded alcoholic beverages worth nearly RM200,000 out of Labuan waters without paying taxes on Monday night.
Labuan Maritime Zone Director Izwanhadi Idros said the boat involved attempted to flee upon detecting the presence of enforcement authorities. However, swift action by Maritime Malaysia officers enabled them to intercept the vessel and seize its cargo.
“Patrol vessel PETIR 90 detected three suspicious boats at about 8:15 pm, 0.4 nautical miles southeast of Pulau Papan, while conducting Operation Sejahtera 1/2022 and Operation Tiris 3.0,” he said.
“When approached, the boats attempted to escape, triggering a chase. Two boats turned back towards the Labuan Methanol area, while one fled towards Balangkasan Island. The suspect is believed to have jumped overboard and swum to the island,” he added.
An inspection of the abandoned boat found it heavily laden with alcoholic beverages. No suspects were located during a subsequent search around the island.
The seized boat and its cargo were taken to the Labuan Maritime Jetty for further investigation.
The case is being investigated under relevant smuggling and customs laws.
Members of the public, particularly the maritime community, are urged to report any suspicious activities at sea via the emergency line 999 or the Labuan Maritime Zone Operations Centre at 087-427999 for immediate action.
