TUMPAT: All 32 marine police officers stationed at Pengkalan Kubor involved in anti-smuggling operations along the Malaysia-Thailand border have been instructed to wear their bulletproof vests.
Bukit Aman marine police commander, Senior Assistant Norzaid Muhammad Said said the directive, long in place, is being enforced following recent threats against Customs officers.
"I have directed Third Region Pengkalan Kubor marine operations base commanding officer, Assistant Superintendent Akil Abd Rauf, to ensure that his men wear their bulletproof vests.
"This is for their safety while patrolling from Kubang Pak Hitam to Kuala Takbai," he said, when contacted.
Norzaid added that the officers were also required to carry both light, and heavy weapons.
Security measures have been tightened across Kelantan following an incident where smugglers fired shots at Customs Department officers during an enforcement operation on June 19 in Kampung Simpangan, Pengkalan Kubor, Sungai Golok, at the Malaysia-Thailand border.
Kelantan Customs director, Wan Jamal Abdul Salam Wan Long said the 9.45am incident occurred as a team approached an illegal jetty known as Pok Mat, where contraband, believed to be petrol and diesel, were being unloaded from 15 boats.
As officers boarded one of the boats loaded with barrels suspected to contain fuel, the smugglers attempted to flee by jumping into another boat. The suspected smugglers fired at the enforcement team before escaping to Thailand, by river.
Customs Department director-general, Datuk Anis Rizana Mohd Zainuddin, said that the incident would not deter their efforts in combating smuggling.
"Challenges during enforcement operations are par for the course for our personnel," she said.
Anis reaffirmed the department's commitment in addressing smuggling issues and vowed strict action against the perpetrators of cross-border crimes, under existing laws.