Esscom nabs 2 foreigners carrying live bullets

One of them works as a security guard and owns a homemade shotgun.

The two were detained by Esscom while travelling on an express bus from Tawau towards Keningau.

TAWAU: The Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) has detained two foreigners for possessing five live shotgun bullets without a permit, its chief, DCP Hazani Ghazali, said.

The two men were travelling together on an express bus from Tawau towards Keningau when they were arrested at 6.30pm yesterday.

“Checks on the passengers on the bus revealed the two suspects had no valid identification documents,” said Hazani.

“They were then ordered to disembark along with their personal belongings.

“We found the five 12-bore live rounds when our officers checked a black bag one of them was carrying.”

Hazani said further investigations revealed that one of the suspects worked as a security guard and he admitted owning a bakakuk, or home-made shotgun, which he used to hunt.

“Both suspects, aged 41, were taken to the Tawau district police headquarters for further investigations,” he said.

Hazani said Esscom would always improve its standard operating procedures at its road checkpoints or overland inspection spots to curb criminal activities, including smuggling, human trafficking and entry of illegal immigrants.

“We opened the Kalabakan road checkpoint on March 29 to curb the movement of criminal elements between the west and east coasts and this has already borne results,” Hazani told FMT. - FMT