MMEA detains tugboat towing barge laden with logs in Bintulu

The tugboat, barge, and their crew have been detained for further investigation.
BINTULU (May 13): The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Bintulu Maritime Zone detained a tugboat approximately one nautical mile northwest of the Kemena River estuary yesterday.
Bintulu Maritime Zone director Capt Muhammad Suffian Eldine Abdullah said during a routine patrol, the enforcement team inspected the tugboat, which was towing a barge laden with timber logs.
He said at the time of inspection, the tugboat was travelling from Kudat, Sabah to Bintulu waters.
'Initial checks revealed the vessel was manned by six crew members, comprising a Myanmar national as a skipper, two local crew members, and two Indian nationals aged between 26 and 64 years,' he said.
Muhammad Suffian said the tugboat is believed to have committed an offence under Section 65F (2) of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance (MSO) 1952, for submitting false or inconsistent information compared to that stated in the Domestic Shipping License (DSL), which provides for an RM2,500 fine upon conviction.
The tugboat and its crew were detained and escorted to the Bintulu Maritime Zone Vessel Detention Centre before being handed over to MMEA investigators for further action.
For any complaints or emergencies contact the Bintulu Maritime Zone Operations Centre on 086-314 254 or the Sarawak Maritime State Operations Centre on 082-432544. kemena river lead MMEA Bintulu Muhammad Suffian Eldine Abdullah

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

The Star

4 hours ago

• The Star

Indonesia arrests 285 in drug crackdown and seizes over half a ton of narcotics

A number of suspected drug smugglers are presented to the media during a press conference at the Indonesian Customs Office in Jakarta, on Monday, June 23, 2025, following the uncovering of some 172 international drug smuggling cases from April to June 2025, with a total of 285 suspects arrested. - Photo by ADITYA IRAWAN / AFP JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP): Indonesian authorities said Monday they arrested 285 people suspected of drug trafficking, including 29 women and seven foreigners, and seized over half a ton of various narcotics during a two-monthlong nationwide crackdown. Indonesia is a major hub for drug trafficking in South-East Asia despite having strict drug laws, with convicted smugglers sometimes executed by firing squad. The head of the National Narcotic Agency, Marthinus Hukom, said the crackdown, launched between April and June across 20 provinces, also uncovered money laundering schemes by two drug syndicates and confiscated assets worth more than 26 billion rupiah (about $1.5 million). Thirty-six of the suspects, including 21 women, were paraded in front of reporters, along with confiscated drugs, in their orange prison uniforms and hands handcuffed. Hukom said the women arrested were mostly housewives. "I call on Indonesian women to be more vigilant in establishing friendships both in the real world and in cyberspace,' he said during a joint press conference with officials from the security affairs ministry and the customs office who took part in the operation. One of the agency's deputies, Budi Wibowo, said authorities seized 683,885 grams (0.68 ton) of crystal meth, marijuana, ecstasy, THC, hashish and amphetamines, adding this helped stop them falling into the hands of "more than 1.3 million people.' Wibowo also said that drug syndicates have used various methods to distribute narcotics to users via land and sea transportation or mail services. The seven foreign nationals were an American, two Kazakhs, two Malaysians, an Indian and an Australian, Wibowo said. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says Indonesia is a major drug-smuggling hub in part because international drug syndicates target its young population. In a separate operation, authorities in the province of Riau Island, exposed in May two cases of drug smuggling in its waters and seized 2.7 tons of crystal methamphetamine and 1.2 tons of ketamine, Hukom said Monday. In 2023, authorities uncovered more than 52,000 of drug cases and confiscated 6.2 tons of crystal meth, 1.1 tons of marijuana and other types of synthetic narcotics, said Mochammad Hasan of the ministry of security affairs during the press conference. Hasan said the number increased in 2024 with more than 56,000 cases and confiscated 7.5 tons of crystal meth and 3.3 tons of marijuana, with a combine value worth 7.5 trillion rupiah ($454.6 million). Authorities have arrested a total of 27,357 drug suspects by November 2024, he said. Early this month, three British nationals accused of smuggling nearly a kilogram (over two pounds) of cocaine into Indonesia were charged in a court on the tourist island of Bali. They face the death penalty under the country's strict drug laws. About 530 people, including 96 foreigners, are on death row in Indonesia, mostly for drug-related crimes, the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections' data showed. Indonesia's last executions, of an Indonesian and three foreigners, were carried out in July 2016. - AP

New Straits Times

7 hours ago

• New Straits Times

Cocaine vape syndicate busted in Ampang Jaya, RM7.29mil drugs seized

KUALA LUMPUR: Police have crippled the country's first-known cocaine vape distribution syndicate following the arrest of four men, including three Singaporean, in Ampang Jaya last week. Federal police Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (NCID) acting director Datuk Mat Zani @ Mohd Salahuddin Che Ali said the arrests, carried out on June 19, following intelligence received on their activities. He said the first suspect, a 57-year-old local, was detained along with two Singaporeans, aged 46 and 25, in a Toyota Vellfire parked at the exit lane of a hotel in Ampang Jaya. "A fourth suspect, a 31-year-old Singaporean, was nabbed shortly after at the lobby of the same hotel. "A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of 10 boxes containing 4,958 vape cartridges filled with liquid suspected to be cocaine, amounting to 9,420ml where the stash was found in the rear passenger area," he told reporters here today. Mat Zani said the total street value of the drugs is estimated at RM7.29 million and is enough to endanger nearly 5,000 users. He said the syndicate is believed to have been operating since March this year, using rented condominiums around the capital as packaging hubs before distributing the cocaine-laced vape liquids to international markets. He also said that the cocaine had been fully processed and was ready for distribution before the suspects were intercepted. "We believe the syndicate had planned to use Malaysia as a transit hub, with drugs possibly smuggled in by land routes from the south. "This is a new and dangerous trend. Cocaine is extremely difficult to obtain in Southeast Asia due to its high price and limited demand. It is usually trafficked only for the elite class and for export. "Each vape cartridge was estimated to be worth RM1,500 on the international market and could deliver up to 100 inhalations," he said. As such, he said, the case is being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the mandatory death penalty or life imprisonment with whipping upon conviction. All suspects have been remanded for seven days from June 20 to 26 to assist investigations. He also said preliminary urine tests found only the fourth suspect positive for ketamine. "Background checks also showed the first suspect has a record of two crime-related offences involving abetment and theft. "The second suspect has a past drug trafficking conviction in Singapore, while the remaining two have no records. "We also took action under the Dangerous Drugs (Forfeiture of Property) Act 1988, seizing assets worth RM2,975, including a beaded bracelet adorned with two dragon charms and a gold-coloured sycee," he said.

Barnama

9 hours ago

• Barnama

MMEA, Japan Coast Guard Launch Joint Maritime Exercise In Selangor Waters

KLANG, June 23 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) and the Japan Coast Guard (JCG) will conduct a four-day joint exercise in the waters off Selangor from today. MMEA acting deputy director-general (Operations) Rear Admiral Mohd Zawawi Abdullah said the exercise, involving the Maritime Ship (KM) Banggi and Patrol Vessel (PV) Mizuho, demonstrates JCG's confidence in MMEA to strengthen cooperation in addressing increasingly complex regional security challenges. He said the series of exercises would include search and rescue operations, arresting technique training, and Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) training involving officers and personnel from both MMEA and PV Mizuho. 'This is the first visit by PV Mizuho after the COVID-19 pandemic... Cooperation between MMEA and the JCG has been ongoing since 2006. 'The collaboration between PV Mizuho and KM Banggi this time focuses on law enforcement training, particularly in combating sea robbery and transnational crimes, as well as other illegal activities within our maritime zone,' he told a press conference after visiting PV Mizuho at the Port Klang Cruise Terminal here today.