16-6-2024 (BANGKOK) 3 vessels laden with a staggering 330,000 litres of contraband diesel, which mysteriously vanished from a police pier in Chon Buri last week, have been tracked down near Malaysian waters, according to Thai law enforcement authorities. The audacious heist has sparked a high-stakes maritime pursuit across international borders.
Pol Maj Gen Charoonkiat Pankaew, the deputy commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau, revealed on Sunday that the three boats, which disappeared from the marine police pier in Sattahip district of Chon Buri on Wednesday, embarked on a perilous voyage through Cambodian and Vietnamese waters before their current location off the southern coast of Thailand was ascertained.
In a coordinated effort, Thai police have joined forces with their counterparts in neighbouring countries to mount pressure on those aboard the rogue vessels, urging them to surrender. “They receive good cooperation, and the possible outcome is positive,” Pol Maj Gen Charoonkiat affirmed, underscoring the determination to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The deputy commissioner emphasised the gravity of the situation, asserting that the authorities cannot tolerate such brazen theft from the very marine police unit entrusted with upholding the law in Chon Buri. Consequently, the police officers responsible for the loss of the seized vessels will face charges of dereliction of duty causing severe damage to the government.
Pol Maj Gen Pritthipong Nuchanart, the commander of the marine police, acknowledged the responsibility of his force in addressing this case. While reports of the three vessels being in Cambodian waters remain unverified, he disclosed intelligence suggesting that they might still be navigating the high seas near Malaysia.
According to the marine police commander, the contraband oil aboard the three vessels has an estimated market value of approximately 3 million baht (around S$110,700) in total, or roughly 10-12 baht per litre – a sum not deemed exorbitantly high.
Pol Maj Gen Pritthipong expressed scepticism that the wrongdoers would unload the contraband oil onto other vessels, given the substantial value of the ships themselves, estimated at about 5 million baht (S$185,000) each. “It would be unfeasible to steal the oil and discard the ships,” he asserted.
The saga unfolded when the local marine police station in Sattahip reported at 6 am on Wednesday that three of the five modified fishing boats confiscated in an oil smuggling case had vanished. The vessels, identified as the J.P. with 80,000 litres of contraband oil and seven crew members, the Seahorse with 150,000 litres of untaxed oil and six crew, and the Daorung with 100,000 litres of untaxed oil and five crew, had been moored in a “safe area” approximately 100 metres away from the marine police pier.
Authorities cited inclement weather and strong winds that hit Sattahip on Sunday as the catalyst for the decision to anchor all five confiscated vessels, which had been seized in connection with oil smuggling, about 100 metres from the pier to ensure their safety.
