Marine police intensify ops against smuggling

LABUAN: The Sabah and Labuan marine police are stepping up measures in anticipation of smuggling activities ahead of Christmas next week.

They urged members of the public to play their part in providing timely information on suspected smugglers and smuggling.

Sabah Marine Police (Region 4) commander ACP Mohamad Pajeri Ali said yesterday an operation dubbed ‘Op Selamat Laut' will be held focusing on Sabah and Labuan waters.

“The operation will monitor the outflow and inflow of speedboats and vessels and conduct checks on the sea transport from the dutyfree-island of Labuan to Sabah and back throughout December.

“The operation is not only against illicit booze but also against contraband ciggies as we want to play a part in addressing revenue leakages due to smuggling,” he said to Bernama.

Mohamad Pajeri said the police had conducted a number of special operations against smuggling, such as ‘Op Gelora Khas' (Op Terancang) and ‘Op Landai Khas' during the last Christmas season.

“Our intelligence unit will be more proactive and aggressive in gathering information on smuggling and act based on intelligence-led policing,” he said, adding that more personnel would be deployed in target areas to obtain information.

He said boats would also be assigned to conduct patrols in areas frequently used for the illegal activity.

“At the same time, the Sabah marine police will continue to have close cooperation with the Customs Department and Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) and Sarawak marine police in the area of sharing information on smuggling,” he said. - Bernama