ANN/THE STAR – The Malaysian marine police intercepted a vessel carrying 10 foreign nationals attempting to enter Sabah from the Philippines without authorisation.
Marine police came across the vessel during an operation dubbed Taring Gelora Khas in waters off the east coast Semporna district at 8.50pm on Saturday.
The skipper, 31, is believed to have charged foreigners MYR300 each to sneak them into Sabah.
Following a check, marine police found eight people, including a woman without travel papers while the remaining two passengers had valid documents.
During questioning, the skipper told police he was ferrying passengers from Sitangkai in the Philippines to Kampung Terusan in Semporna and that he had charged them MYR300 each.
The boat caption had no licence to operate passenger transfer activities.
Region Four Marine Police Commander Asst Comm Ahmad Ariffin confirmed the case when contacted on Sunday.
“The detainees (skipper and eight undocumented migrants) as well as seized items have been brought to the Semporna marine police base and will be referred to the district CID for further investigation.
“The case will be investigated under Section 26 of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007,” said ACP Ahmad.
