Vietnamese boats arrested in undercover sting
Two Vietnamese fishing boats with their 11 crew members were escorted back to the shore of Songkhla's Muang district on Thursday to face prosecution for allegedly fishing in Thai waters, said the director of the Fisheries Department's Prevention and Suppression Centre in Songkhla, Charoen Omanee.
The undercover Poseidon trawler, which has been tasked by the Thai authorities to prevent illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, interrupted two boats fishing about 120 nautical miles off Songkhla coast.
Officers on board the Poseidon presented themselves to arrest the crews and escorted them to dock in Songkhla.
The crew members, following the questioning for intrusion, were sent to Muang Songkhla to have four charges filed against them.
The charges were using a foreign vessel to fish in Thai waters without permission, working in Thai waters without permission, violating the 1939 Act Governing the Right to Fish in Thai Fishery Waters and colluding to use a foreign vessel to fish in Thai waters in violation to the 2015 Emergency Decree on Fisheries.
On August 20 the Poseidon apprehended two Vietnamese fishing boats along with 12 crew members.