BANGKOK: Four Cambodian boats were seized off Trat after allegedly attempting to smuggle Thai goods into Cambodia during a late-night operation, with some crew members jumping into the sea in a failed bid to escape.
On Sunday (April 12), the Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre Region 1, led by Captain Wuttichat Ratcharattanarak, deputy director of the Trat provincial branch, launched an operation to intercept Cambodian boats suspected of illegally transporting goods from Thailand to Cambodia.
The operation was carried out jointly by Region 1 of the Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre, Marine Task Force 182, Trat Immigration, vessel Tor 230 and other agencies. The arrests were made at around 1am on April 12 in Thai waters off Hat Lek subdistrict in Khlong Yai district, around two nautical miles from shore.
Captain Wuttichat said the operation targeted four Cambodian boats that were trying to smuggle goods from the Thai side to Cambodia.
All four vessels attempted to flee, and those involved jumped into the sea in an effort to escape. However, all were eventually apprehended while heading towards the Cambodian coast.
The suspects were later brought in for questioning at the multi-purpose pier in Khlong Yai district. They included five Cambodian nationals and one Thai national. Officials said the Thai suspect had a wife living on the Cambodian side and had joined the smuggling operation transporting goods into Cambodia.
The investigation has not yet been completed. However, officers initially found more than 500 boxes of goods, including chicken offal and fruit such as Burmese grape, lychee and sweet tamarind. Live black crabs were also found. The cargo was estimated to be worth several hundred thousand baht.
Authorities said the smuggling network typically moves goods into Cambodia and brings Cambodian goods into Thailand during the late-night hours, travelling more than two nautical miles offshore in an attempt to avoid detection and arrest.
For that reason, Region 1 of the Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre has instructed its teams, with the Trat branch taking the lead, to continue tracking, monitoring and coordinating with local state agencies in order to intercept, prevent and suppress the network on an ongoing basis. - The Nation/ANN
