SEMPORNA, Dec 9 ― A man, believed to be attempting to smuggle cooking oil and petrol in a boat to the Philippines, fled after seeing the presence of the marine police (PPM) in the waters off Pulau Bohey Dulang near here, yesterday.
Semporna PPM operations commanding officer DSP Mohamad Ismail said a PPM team, upon receiving information on a smuggling activity at 11.20am rushed to the location and spotted a suspicious boat, with a man onboard, in the island’s mangrove area.
“However the suspect fled to the hill and forest area. The PPM’s search for the suspect went futile, but found 323 kilogrammes (kg) of cooking oil and six barrels of petrol (150 litre) in the boat which was left in the area,” he said in a statement here, today.
Mohamad said the overall seizure was estimated to be worth RM21,062.50.
He urged the maritime community with information on illegal activities to contact the Sabah PPM Communication Centre or WhatsApp to 013-2831197. ― Bernama