Since the beginning of the year, the Coast Guard and Border Guard have continuously detected and handled a series of vehicles illegally transporting gasoline and oil at sea, showing that this activity is still complicated. The authorities are continuing to deploy many measures to prevent and handle it.
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| Squadron I/23 - Border Guard Squadron 18 arrested fishing boat KG 95548 TS illegally transporting 100,000 liters of DO oil in March 2023. |
Continuous detection of undocumented oil tankers
At 9:45 a.m. on March 19, in the sea area about 150 nautical miles east-southeast of Con Dao (coordinates 07 degrees 28N - 108 degrees 40E), the Coast Guard Region 3 Command discovered fishing boat TG 94456 TS with suspicious signs and conducted an inspection. Upon inspection, the ship was found to be transporting 60,000 liters of DO oil, and the captain and 4 crew members could not present documents proving the legality of the oil.
Then, at 5:15 p.m. on March 23, while patrolling the waters of Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Squadron I/23 (Border Guard Squadron 18) inspected the ship TG 94438 TS captained by Mr. Nguyen Van Binh (born in 1968, residing in My Tho City, Tien Giang Province). The authorities discovered that the ship was transporting about 15,000 liters of DO oil. Captain Nguyen Van Binh could not present invoices or documents proving the origin of the oil.
According to Major Truong Viet Tuyen, Captain of the Drug and Crime Prevention Team of Border Guard Squadron 18, among the recent cases of illegal transportation of petroleum at sea detected and handled by Border Guard Squadron 18, most of the cases involved fishing boats converted into oil tankers and then colluding with foreign subjects to buy cheap oil to resell to those in need in the country. Specifically, the subjects used converted ships to conduct transactions in border areas, transferred the ship, and then transported it to the mainland for consumption or resold to fishing boats at sea.
After monitoring, on the morning of March 29, Squadron I/23 of the Border Guard Squadron 18 caught and escorted fishing boat KG 95548 TS to Vung Tau City to investigate and clarify the act of illegally transporting more than 100,000 liters of DO oil. At first glance, everyone thought the captured boat was a fishing boat because the hull clearly stated KG 95548 TS (meaning the boat was still registered as fishing in Kien Giang province). However, there was no fishing gear on the boat, but instead there were many tools used to extract oil such as suction pipes and pump columns. In particular, the fishing boat's fish and ice tanks were used to store DO oil.
Through investigation, Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh, captain of fishing boat KG 95548 TS, said that on average, each liter of smuggled oil successfully sold at sea, after deducting costs, still makes a profit of about 1,000 VND/liter. Because of such large profits, many fishing boats have abandoned fishing to switch to smuggling oil.
Along with using fishing boats to smuggle gasoline at sea, in order to mislead the investigation of the authorities, many subjects also use tricks such as changing the name and registration number of the vehicle, the route, and turning off the positioning device to deceive the authorities.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Bui Xuan Tung, Head of the Reconnaissance Department of the Coast Guard Region 3 Command, smuggling of gasoline and oil often takes place in the sea area south of Con Dao and bordering Indonesia, Malaysia, etc. The subjects often transport and deliver illegal gasoline and oil at night. The ringleaders often do not directly "show up" but give indirect instructions through the captain and crew on the ship and use "junk" SIM cards for transactions, so when the authorities arrest them, it is very difficult to identify the owner of the goods, prove the illegal elements, and handle the case.
Strengthen patrol and control
Lieutenant Colonel Bui Xuan Tung added that in the coming time, Coast Guard Region 3 will focus on patrolling and strictly controlling assigned sea areas; closely coordinate and exchange information with Customs and Border Guard forces to grasp the situation of smuggling at sea to prevent and handle it promptly.
Talking about the solutions to fight in the coming time, Lieutenant Colonel Mai Anh Tuan, Head of the Drug and Crime Prevention Department of the Provincial Border Guard, said that in addition to using synchronous professional measures, basic investigations, developing professional plans and solutions to prevent, control, and combat smuggling of petroleum at sea, one of the experiences learned to control the area well is to rely on fishermen, promoting the role of the masses in the fight against crime.
“Border Guard units need to proactively advise local Party committees and authorities to direct departments, branches, organizations, and functional forces to step up propaganda to the masses on the fight against smuggling, trade fraud, and counterfeit goods; regularly coordinate to summarize, draw lessons, and reward outstanding collectives and individuals in the movement to fight and denounce crimes, organize meetings, train, and disseminate laws to ship owners and fishermen, build solidarity groups at sea, and build a strong maritime border defense posture,” emphasized Lieutenant Colonel Mai Anh Tuan.
Article and photos: MINH NHAN
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