TAWAU: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) thwarted an attempt to smuggle out syabu worth RM1.76 million off the Inderasabah beach area, near here, last night.
District Maritime Zone director Captain Shahrizan Raman said the seizure of syabu drugs, weighing 32kg, was made during Op Sejahtera at 11.10pm.
Despite limited visibility, he said, the patrol team managed to detect the presence of a speedboat with two individuals about 0.2 nautical miles south of Inderasabah.
"The boat captain, shocked by the presence of the MMEA patrol boat, sped off towards nearby shallow mangrove swamps.
"During the chase, one of them was seen throwing a package into the sea," he said at a press conference here.
Shahrizan said upon searching at the location, the team managed to retrieve a floating black bag.
Upon further checks, they found 32 packages inside, all weighing 1kg each, labelled as "Guan Ying Wang" Chinese tea, but instead contained clear crystal objects suspected to be syabu.
"We believe that the drug trafficking activity has an international mastermind although it could also involve locals.
"This is the biggest high-profile drug seizure in Tawau district and the investigation is being conducted under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952," said Shahrizan.