KOTA KINABALU: A group of smugglers ditched cartons of contraband beer into the sea before escaping from the marine police in a high speed chase in Labuan waters on Monday (Feb 19) night.

A marine police vessel had earlier spotted a boat with suspicious characters onboard while patrolling Brunei Bay at about 8.45pm.

Sabah Region Four Marine Police Commander Asst Comm Ahmad Ariffin said they believed the boat was headed to Sarawak from Labuan.

"Our vessel tried to intercept the boat but it sped off towards the Lawas waters (in Sarawak), we believe in order to evade an inspection," he said, when contacted on Tuesday (Feb 20).

"Our men immediately gave chase and saw several individuals on the boat throwing things into the sea," he added.

He said the marine police vessel had to avoid hitting the objects on the water, adding the boat then managed to slip away.

ACP Ahmad said they later fished out scores of cartons containing a total of 648 cans of beer from the water that were discarded by the smugglers.

"We believe the drinks, estimated to be worth over RM6,000, were meant to be sold in Sarawak,” he said.

He added the items would be handed over to the Customs Department for the next course of action.