TAWAU: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency's (MMEA) Tawau branch made 108 arrests involving various offences in the waters here last year.
Tawau Maritime zone director Maritime Captain Shahrizan Raman said this was the highest number of arrests by the agency compared with previous years.
Throughout the year, the Tawau MMEA branch conducted 9,187 vessel inspections with total seizures estimated at RM12.2 million.
Shahrizan said Tawau's location along the border between Malaysia and Indonesia posed significant enforcement challenges. He said there was a possibility of "runners" smuggling controlled goods in small quantities and repeatedly to neighbouring countries.
"However, our efforts will continue to curb these smuggling syndicates and prevent leakage of controlled goods," he said in a statement.
During the weekend, the MMEA officers detained the operator of a passenger boat on suspicion of being an "oil runner" and smuggling petrol.
A patrol boat was conducting routine operations when it intercepted a suspicious-looking fast-moving passenger boat 1.7 nautical miles south of Batu Tiga, Tawau, at 9.55pm on the night of the incident.
Inspection of the passenger boat, operated by a 24-year-old man, revealed 10 jerry cans filled with petrol, weighing about 250 litres, which were believed to be smuggled.
The boat was escorted to the Tawau Maritime Zone Jetty and the suspect handed over to the investigating officer with the seized items for investigation.