THE three captured oil-smuggling boats reached Songkhla Marine Police pier last night (June 17) with there being eight crew members on board and only a little bit of oil left at the bottom of one of the vessels and it still being ascertained how much if any remains on the other two, Amarin TV said.
At 3.30 p.m. Pol Maj. Gen. Jaroonkiat Pankaew, deputy chief of Central Investigation Bureau, along with Pol Maj. Gen. Phruttipong Nuchanart, Marine Police chief, and Pol. Maj. Gen. Chauwalit Liangsupong, chief of Songkhla Police, told the press that investigation revealed there are two groups linked to the five seized oil-smuggling boats with three of them having escaped from Marine Police pier in Sattahip last Tuesday.
One is headed by a racketeer named “Nai Noom Rayong” and the other “Joe Pattani” and it is as yet unclear which one masterminded the daring escape of these three boats with investigation continuing.
The crews of the three oil-smuggling boats had sailed to Cambodia reaching the neighbouring country the next day (June 12). The oil was sold there and the crew worked on changing the appearance of the boats so as to continue using them. The colour of one of them, Kam Rai Ngern, was completely changed from red to green but work on the other was halted as the crew had to quickly flee with police getting close to them.
Some of the crew members got left behind in Cambodia because they had taken turns for shore leave and had to sail away quickly to escape the police.
While it has been reported that the three boats were carrying over 330,000 litres of contraband oil, Pol Maj. Gen. Jaroonkiat said the total is still being ascertained.
A big effort was made to reuse the three boats because their total value is over 20 million baht while the oil they were carrying was worth around 3-4 million baht, the senior police officers said.
When the three boats berthed at Songkhla Marine Police pier at 7.35 p.m., it was found that the boat named Kam Rai Ngern had three crew members and two dogs aboard, JC had four crew members and one dog, while Dao Rung had a crewman and several dogs aboard. When the five boats were initially seized their crews totalled 28.
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The three boats berthed at Marine Police pier in Songkhla after arriving this evening, June 17. Photos: Amarin TV
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