4 Pinoys intercepted off Sabah; authorities suspect smuggling

Four Filipinos were detained in Sabah after being intercepted near Pulau Pom-Pom in a special operation early Sunday, Malaysia's Bernama news agency reported.

The Bernama report quoted Eastern Sabah Security Command head Datuk Mohammad Mentek as saying the four men were aged between 27 and 45.

Citing initial information, Mohammad said the four were from Pulau Sitangkai in the Philippines and were detained at 4 a.m.

Sabah authorities recovered P45,000 in cash from the men.

He said the four were heading to Kampung Batu near Kampung Simunul in Semporna and may have been involved in smuggling "subsidized" goods.

The Malaysian government subsidizes producs like fuel, cooking oil, flour, sugar, and rice to keep prices down.

"They buy subsidized goods in Semporna town and sell them in Pulau Sitangkai. The pump boat was filled with empty drums," he said.

A separate report on Malaysia's The Star Online said authorities also recovered dozens of empty jerry cans on the Filipinos' pump boat. Jerry cans are commonly used to transport fuel and oil. —Joel Locsin/JDS, GMA News

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