MMEA: two arrested in Tawau for smuggling goods from Indonesia

TAWAU -- Kain Batik, sarongs, brown sugar and lotions are among goods that was brought in illegally from Indonesia and believed to be sold in the district.

All of the goods, including a boat, worth RM141,000 were among items seized by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) during one of their operations to arrest undocumented migrants off the coast of the region last Friday at 4:15 am.

A man and a woman, aged 32 and 35 respectively, believed to smuggled the seized items here, were also arrested

MMEA Tawau Maritime Zone director, Director Captain V. Siva Kumar said the arrest was made following a patrol done at the Tawau River estuary where they found a suspicious-looking cargo boat.

The boat was then detained for inspection by the MMEA where they found the ship skipper along with a female passenger.

"Various items were founds during a search of the boat's cargo space, where 1,171 pieces of kain batik made in Indonesia, 500 pieces of Gajah Duduk sarongs, 1,445 pieces of women's clothing; 2,125 packets of brown sugar, 2,688 bottles of Bengkoang body lotion and 24 empty barrels of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)," he said in a statement today.

He said, all of the goods were believed to be from Indonesia and the skipper also failed to provide any legal documentation or permits regarding the goods.

“Both of the suspects were arrested and together with the boat and the goods were brought to the Tawau Maritime Jetty for further investigation.

"All goods including the cargo boat, the boat engines and the loads were seized and the case is being investigated under the Customs Act 1967," he said