Navy captures adapted boat carrying 100,000 litres of smuggled oil
Navy officials swooped down on a boat, adapted to look like part of Thailand’s marine flotilla, near Chonburi’s Koh Phai in the wee hours of Monday (July 20).
Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre’s First Area Commander Vice Admiral Sutthinan Samanrak had learned about the suspicious boat the night before.
Upon boarding 40-metre-long vessel, officials found it was manned by a captain and three crew members, and had 100,000 litres of oil in its bilge. There were no documents on excise tax payment or customs clearance. The captain, 50, said he had steered the boat from Samut Sakhon’s Mahachai sub-district before being caught.
The captain and his crew were arrested as authorities investigate the origin of the oil.
Earlier this month, the Navy cracked down on six cases of smuggling and seized more than 500,000 litres of oil.
RELATED