Boat disguise fails, RM500,000 worth of fish seized — MMEA
MIRI: An attempt by illegal Vietnamese fishermen to fool the authorities by painting Malaysian registration numbers on their vessels failed after they were nabbed by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency ( MMEA) here.
District MMEA operations director Mohd Hambali Ya’akup said the two vessels – filled with 70 tonnes of fish worth an estimated RM500,000 – were initially spotted at 10.37pm on June 15 by an MMEA patrol ship conducting ‘Op Permai’.
“Around 11.18pm, our patrol ship managed to approach one of the vessels bearing the registration number SF2- 3728, and at 11.30pm we caught up with the other vessel using the registration number
Around 11.18pm, our patrol ship managed to approach one of the vessels bearing the registration number SF2-3728, and at 11.30pm we caught up with the other vessel using the registration number SF2-4049. Mohd Hambali Ya’akup, district MMEA operations director
SF2- 4049.
“Upon inspection, both vessels were detained at 12.51am roughly 127 nautical miles from the mouth of Miri river,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Hambali disclosed that the inspection found the registration numbers were fake, and that the vessels were not registered in Malaysia but in Vietnam with the numbers KG- 95298-TS and KG- 95297-TS.
He said the MMEA detained 26 foreign individuals on board the two vessels, aged between 17 and 35, all of whom did not have any valid identification documents.
“The crew also did not have any documents or permits allowing them to fish and they are suspected of committing an offence under the Fisheries Act 1985.
“We have also seized their catch, weighing about 70 tonnes, with a market value estimated at RM500,000,” said Hambali, adding that the vessels and its crew were brought to the Vessel Detention Centre ( PTV) jetty at Pulau Melayu here for further investigation.