PORT DICKSON: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) of Melaka and Negeri Sembilan detained a local fishing boat, suspected of carrying an illegal Indonesian immigrant, yesterday.
Its director, Captain Maritime Mohd Khairi Abd Aziz, said that the Sea Surveillance System (SWASLA) detected that a boat was being navigated suspiciously from the traffic separation scheme (TSS) route, heading to Kuala Sungai Sepang, Selangor, at noon.
Following the inspection, three individuals – the skipper, a crew member, both locals, and a 49-year-old Indonesian man – were arrested, after the Indonesian failed to produce valid identification and travel documents.
“The boat was seized and taken to Negeri Melaka and Negeri Sembilan Maritime jetty, to be investigated under the Immigration Act 1959/63 and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2022,” he said, in a statement here today
He also urged the public to channel any information of misconduct at sea to the Melaka and Negeri Sembilan Maritime Operations Centre, at 06-3876730 or MERS 999 which operates 24 hours a day. – Bernama