KOTA KINABALU: On Thursday (Dec 4), a 35-year-old Indonesian skipper was intercepted by authorities while attempting to smuggle cosmetics products without a permit, disguising them as bananas in Tawau waters.
The products hidden in the boat amounted to 423 cosmetics sets, 264 bottles of medicated oil of various brands, 200 deodorant spray bottles, and several health products registered under the neighbouring country, according to Tawau zone Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) director Maritime Captain Shahrizan Raman.
Shahrizan stated in a Friday (Dec 5) statement that the value of confiscated goods, including the cargo boat and the engine, totaled RM56,000.
The patrol team was executing Ops Sejahtera and Ops Pluto Timur when they traced the suspicious boat moving from Pulau Sebatik towards Tawau mainland.
“They stopped the vessel at 1.9 nautical miles north of Sungai Pukul and conducted an inspection where they found the skipper transporting bananas,” Shahrizan added.
“However, further probe found various cosmetics items hidden under the bananas, believed to be from the neighbouring nation.
“The skipper failed to produce a valid permit and a valid license for the cosmetics,” he explained.
The skipper and the seized items were brought to the Tawau maritime jetty for investigation under the Customs Act 1967, Poisons Act 1952 and Cosmetics and Drugs Control Regulations 1984, said Shahrizan.
Meanwhile, on Friday in a separate incident, a local skipper was detained in possession of a crystalline drugs substance suspected to be syabu onboard a boat 1.5 nautical mile north-west of Sungai Haji Kuning, Pulau Sebatik there.
Shahrizan said the patrol team saw the suspicious vessel and, upon inspection of the skipper, found the 0.5 grammes of drugs and drug paraphernalia in a sling bag he was carrying.
“The suspect was brought to Tawau maritime jetty for a urine test and further investigation.
“All seized items, including the boat and its engine, were estimated to value at RM22,000 in total, and the case has been handed to the investigating officer to be handled under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 for possessing drugs,” he added.
