5,000 Litres of Smuggled Fuel Seized in Satun Waters

[Georgealbert]

 

 

Authorities have seized 5,000 litres of untaxed fuel and apprehended two suspects in a joint operation targeting fuel smuggling in the coastal waters of Satun Province.

 

On November 22, officers from the Royal Thai Navy’s Third Naval Area Command, led by Captain Santi Buanium, Deputy Director of the Maritime Enforcement Command Center for Satun, and Captain Rattapon Kaekrachai, head of the Satun Provincial Naval Task Force, launched the operation following intelligence reports. The reports indicated illegal fuel transfers along the coastline near Ban Nern Soong in Tambon Tanyong Po, Muang District.

 

During the operation, authorities discovered a local fishing boat and a silver Toyota pickup truck parked near a makeshift pier. The boat was actively transferring untaxed diesel fuel into containers loaded onto the truck. Upon inspection, officials found 4,000 litres of diesel stored on the boat, a blue-and-red vessel weighing 12 gross tons, and an additional 1,000 litres in barrels in the truck’s cargo area.

 

The boat’s operator, identified as Mr. Bawra 54, a resident of Tambon Tammalang, and the truck driver, Mr. Fittree 18, a resident of Tambon Yan Sue, were taken into custody. Neither suspect could produce tax payment documents for the fuel.

 

Both men were charged under Section 203 of the Excise Tax Act B.E. 2560 for possessing goods that had not been taxed. The suspects agreed to pay fines totaling 161,000 baht, with Mr. Bawra fined 128,800 baht and Mr. Fittree fined 32,200 baht. The confiscated fuel was handed over to the Satun Provincial Excise Office for further examination.

 

The arrests were recorded at Muang Satun Police Station as part of the Royal Thai Navy’s ongoing crackdown on illegal maritime smuggling, in line with national directives to combat tax evasion and other unlawful activities in Thailand’s coastal regions.

 

Picture courtesy of RTN

-- 2024-11-24