SHAH ALAM, Sept 5 — Two Indonesian men were arrested by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) on suspicion of attempting to sneak into the country illegally by boat in Morib yesterday.
Selangor Maritime director Maritime Captain Abdul Muhaimin Muhammad Salleh said the unregistered boat was spotted at about midnight at 0.04 nautical miles southwest of Morib, before a MMEA patrol boat was dispatched to the location.
“The MMEA team ordered the boat to stop, but it was ignored. The boat sped away, and after an almost 30-minute chase, it ran aground in the Morib mangrove area,” he said.
Muhaimin said there was no one in the boat, but a search of the surrounding area resulted in the discovery of two Indonesian men aged 22 and 33 without valid identification documents.
The two were believed to have attempted to enter the country via an ungazetted route, and the case was being investigated under the Immigration Act 1959/63 and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (ATIPSOM) Act 2007.
He added that the boat and the two suspects were taken to the Pulau Indah Marine Police Force (PPM) Jetty and handed over to the Selangor Maritime Investigation Officer for further action.
The operation was carried out under “Op Khas Jalur Belakang” based on intelligence information and assistance from the Klang Area Control Centre (ACC) Klang.
