RM12,000 smuggled crabs from Indonesia seized

TAWAU: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) here foiled an attempt to smuggle a consignment of mangrove crabs in a passenger boat yesterday morning at the waters off Mile 3 Apas.District MMEA director Maritime Captain Anor Hj Jaafar said acting on information received, a maritime patrol boat chased and detained the suspected boat about 3am that was heading to Tawau waters at Mile 3 from Tarakan, Indonesia. “Checks on the boat found an Indonesian skipper and two crewmen aged between 16 to 20 years old. They failed to produce any identification documents when checked. The boat was loaded with about 40 polystyrene boxes that contained the crabs estimated to worth about RM12,000,” he said.   According to Anor, the boat was not appointed by the National Security Council and according to source, only six companies were appointed to carry sea products through other channels. He said the boat was brought to the MMEA jetty for investigation under the Customs Act 1967 and Immigration Act 1959. source : www.theborneopost.com