A GROUP of sea-bound smugglers took advantage of bad weather and disguised their ship to look as close to resembling that of a fisherman's boat to evade detection by the authorities.

However, their tactic was exposed during a Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency raid on their foreign-registered boat at 3.10am on Saturday in Batu Pahat waters.

They attempted to smuggle in 900 cartons of white and kretek cigarettes worth RM107,058 (S$45,715.30 ) at a location 3.5 nautical miles south of Tanjung Labuh, Batu Pahat.

Johor Baru District Maritime Enforcement chief Maritime Captain Mohd Sabri Mohamed Jusoh said the smugglers' boat was chased by an MMEA team which was patrolling hot spots in the coast off Muar and Pontian to monitor smuggling attempt.

"The team noticed the boat as it looked suspicious and approached it. "Afraid of being detained, the crew in the boat sped off toward the Sungai Batu Pahat river mouth leading to a 30-minute chase in bad weather.

"The suspects threw out big boxes believed to contain cigarettes into the sea. However, their boat got stuck in the shallow waters of the mangrove forest in Tanjung Segenting.

Three suspects escaped on foot into the nearby mangrove forests."