Marine Police Force commander Mohd Yusoff Mamat said this was a drastic increase, compared with only RM55.8 million worth of goods seized between January and June 2020.

He added that a large portion or RM156.3 million of the seized items were linked to offences under the Customs Act.

Other seized items were related to offences under the Dangerous Drugs Act, Fisheries Act, Control of Supplies Act, Forestry Act and Control of Padi and Rice Act.

“We take matters on smuggling items and human trafficking seriously. That is why we increased our checks on vessels, boats, and ships in our waters since January,” he told reporters today.

According to Yusoff, the hotspots for smuggling and trafficking activities were mainly along the west coast, especially between Perlis and Sepang.

“Currently we only have 190 boats to guard the waters in Semananjung, Sabah and Sarawak.

“We are in the midst of procuring new assets which will comprise multi-purpose ships, and a tender for the acquisition will be called soon,” he said.