KUALA TERENGGANU: Unscrupulous foreign fishermen had a foolproof trick up their sleeve. Or, so they thought.
To avoid detection by the authorities, they used fake Malaysian passports to fish in the country’s territorial waters.
However, their charade did not last long as the Terengganu Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) noticed something fishy during its routine operations in the waters last December.
In that incident, a team of MMEA officers nabbed several Myanmar fishermen in Malaysian waters and upon checking, found them using fake Malaysian passports.
District MMEA chief, Maritime Captain Xavier Thevadas Gnanapragasam said the agency detained 10 foreign fishermen holding forged passports to facilitate investigations.
He said two days ago, the agency detected five other Myanmar fishermen, aged between 21 and 40, who used Thai passports near Pulau Kapus and they were detained.
“We believe the passport forgery was the work of a Malaysian, and the matter has been handed over to the immigration department for further action,” he told reporters when met during the Maritime Day on Sunday. – Bernama
