Coast Guard Intelligence Division No. 2 officers found a fishing boat off the HCM City coast carrying 40,000 litres of smuggled diesel on January 15. — Photo courtesy of Việt Nam Coast Guard

HCM CITY — The Việt Nam Coast Guard has seized 40,000 litres of contraband diesel from a wooden fishing boat off the coast of Vũng Tàu in HCM City.

Senior Lieutenant Colonel Phan Nhân Hậu, head of the Đồng Nai Province-based Coast Guard Intelligence Division No 2, said on January 16 that the division is focusing on its fight against crime, including drug prevention, human trafficking, smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods in the last months of the year ahead of the upcoming Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday.

At 12.05pm on January 15, the division’s patrol team in collaboration with the Department of Professional Affairs and Law discovered wooden fishing boat TG-93329-TS registered in Đồng Tháp about 40 nautical miles southeast of the Vũng Tàu coast. Officers boarded the boat and found oil of unknown origin.

On board were its captain, Trần Văn Tính, of Đồng Tháp Province and one crew member.

Tính failed to furnish documents to prove the origin of the oil, nor did the crew have the certification required to be sailors.

In the afternoon of January 16, the patrol team brought the boat ashore, and handed the case over to Squadron No. 301 under the Coast Guard Region No. 3 Command based in HCM City’s Phước Thắng Ward for further investigation.

Coast Guard Intelligence Division No. 2 is tasked with monitoring the sea from the Central Highlands province of Đắk Lắk to the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta provicne of An Giang, including the Trường Sa (Spratly) Archipelago.

The division is also assigned to detect and combat violations of law, such as national security crimes, smuggling, and trade fraud at sea. — VNS