BANGKOK, June 28 (TNA) — Police and officials of the Department of Fisheries arrested a Thai man and two Myanmar men on their fishing boat for allegedly smuggling fish into the country, in the southern province of Ranong.
The arrest happened at PJ Pier in Bang Rin sub-district of Ranong’s provincial seat in the evening of June 26. Officials seized 23 containers of squids and mixed fish on their 9-gross-ton boat, said Pol Lt Gen Jaruwat Waisaya, chief of the police legal affairs bureau.
The arrest was part of serious efforts to suppress illegal fishing, he said. On June 26-27, authorities seized six other fishing boats in Ranong for allegedly using fake registration and smuggling fish.
He said that strict action by police and the Department of Fisheries reduced the number of illegal fishing cases from 3,270 in 2016 to 958 in 2017, 574 in 2018 and 191 in the first half of this year. (TNA)
