KUALA LUMPUR (MALAYSIA), 07 September 2008 - The Malaysian marine police has seized some 110.000 packets of cigarettes which are believed to be smuggled to the country from Indonesia. The catch was made after a 15-minute high-speed sea chase, according to an official on Sunday. The contraband, with a value of some 200.000 euro, was seized after the smugglers made an attempt to escape in their cargo boat after they were ordered to stop for a routing inspection by patrolling marine personnel last Friday night.

The ship's captain and six crewmen, believed to be Indonesians and aged between 21 and 48, have also been detained, said southern region marine Police Chief Paul Khiu. "We believe the cigarettes were for the local market and were being smuggled in from Tanjung Pinang in Indonesia," said Khiu. "We also seized the ship worth about 273,450 ringgit (54,700 euro)," he said. The suspects were all detained at a police station in Johor state.

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