They are believed to be linked to the Abu Sayyaf terror group.

ESSCom commander Wan Abdul Bari Wan Abdul Khalid said they were all wanted by the agency and were believed to be still in Philippine waters.

“At the moment, ESSCom is intensifying operations to track down all those involved, aged around 20 to 30.

“They are also believed to be coming back and forth between Philippine waters and Sabah to commit crime.

“Hence ESSCom is urging all fishermen to cooperate with us if they see individuals that raise suspicion in Sabah waters,” he told Bernama today.

Bari also called on the public with information on all the suspects to contact the ESSCom operations centre at 089-863181.

Last Friday, ESSCom released a list of 23 wanted individuals being hunted down by the enforcement agency for suspected involvement in cross-border crime.

Information on the wanted men was then distributed in Sabah for public knowledge.

Most of the individuals are Philippine nationals who have been in this country, according to a spokesman from the ESSCom operations room based in Lahad Datu.

Last Thursday, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, at a meeting with Prime Minister Najib Razak in Putrajaya, stated that he had allowed Malaysian security forces to chase kidnapping groups right into Philippine waters.