Security forces shoot dead 4 men in Lahad Datu

LAHAD DATU: Security forces based here shot dead four men believed to be members of a kidnap-for-ransom gang off Sahabat near here, about 13.6 nautical miles from Pulau Malamanuk, Philippines, early today.
Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Ramli Din said an integrated team comprising the eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCom), 69 Commando unit and Marine Police was patrolling the waters when they intercepted around 2am, a boat with a number of people on board which was suspiciously speeding towards a fishing boat.
"The security team acted promptly and was approaching the boat when all of a sudden shots rang out. The security team fired back in defence," he told a press conference here today, adding, the bodies of two suspects were found on the boat while another two, floating in the water.
He said the suspects were believed to be in their 20s to 40s and did not have any identification document.
A Remington Rand pistol and a grenade launcher were also seized from the boat, he said.
Ramli said 69 Commando and Marine Police personnel dived into the water in an attempt to retrieve firearm believed to have fallen into the sea from the suspects' grasp during the shootout but had not recovered the weapons.
Meanwhile, he disclosed that the security forces early this year succeeded in foiling 33 attempts of cross border crime in the ESSZone. — Bernama