MMEA foils attempt to smuggle in rice worth RM3 million
MIRI: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) foiled an attempt by a foreign cargo vessel to smuggle in 13,000 bags of rice worth RM3 million.
MMEA Miri head Capt Md Fauzi Othman said the cargo vessel was detained at about 2.6 nautical miles northwest off Tanjung Baram, at around 9am last Saturday.
“Inspections found 26 containers containing some 13,000 bags of rice, believed to be from elsewhere, with an estimated weight of 650 tonnes.
“The rice is suspected of being smuggled into Miri using the cargo ship for sale in the local market,” he said in a statement yesterday.
According to Md Fauzi, preliminary investigation found that the cargo ship was registered in Mongolia, with its last stop in Vietnam prior to being detained by MMEA. He said the vessel, manned by two locals and eight Indonesian crew members, is suspected of breaching the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952 by failing to submit Crew Exchange (Sign On and Sign Off) documents, as well as violating the Immigration Act 1959/63 by failing to submit foreign entry and exit registration documents during the inspection.
He added the crew, aged between 21 and 66, and the ship, were brought to MMEA Miri Vessel Detention Centre jetty for further investigation under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952, Immigration Act 1959/63, Customs Act 1967 and Trademark Act 2019.
“All crew members will undergo Covid-19 screening by the Ministry of Health as a precautionary measure,” he said.