Tanjung bidara: An attempt by three men, believed to be Indonesians, to smuggle illegal immigrants and drugs out of Malaysian waters was foiled when their fibreglass boat capsized off the coast of Tanjung Bidara early today.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Melaka and Negeri Sembilan director Captain Salehuddin Zakaria stated in a press release that they became aware of the suspects' boat through intelligence gathering. The boat had reportedly traveled from Pulau Rapat, Indonesia.

Captain Salehuddin elaborated that MMEA personnel, who were implementing Op Murni, detected the suspects' boat at around 4 am, approximately 2.3 nautical miles southwest of Tanjung Bidara. The suspects displayed aggressive behavior when instructed to stop for inspection, eventually colliding with the MMEA vessel.

Following the collision, two of the suspects reportedly dived into the sea in an attempt to escape, while the third suspect, aged 37, was detained after losing control of the boat, which then capsized. Preliminary investigations suggested that the boat was heading towards Pengkalan Balak to pick up undocumented migrants and drugs for smuggling out of Malaysia.

The detained suspect was taken to the Melaka and Negeri Sembilan MMEA Jetty for further interrogation under the Immigration Act 1959/63. Captain Salehuddin also mentioned that a search and rescue operation has been initiated to locate the two other suspects.