Going back in time, three illegal oil boats disappeared with more than 300,000 liters of oil from the Sattahip Marine Police Pier. Today it will dock in Songkhla Province with a crew of 8 people. The inaugural chapter of this story It began on March 17, 2024 when the Central Police investigated. together with the Customs Department Arrest of 5 illegal tankers carrying more than 300,000 liters of oil in the Gulf of Thailand. Before coordinating with the Marine Police The seized boat must be parked and controlled at the Sattahip Marine Police Pier, Chonburi Province. Until June 9, the Marine Police took all five seized boats and anchored them 100 meters from the pier, claiming to protect them from damage from strong waves. According to the announcement of the Meteorological Department Between 5-9 June and scheduled to return the ship to port on the morning of 10 June. However, it was found that on June 11 at approximately 7:00 p.m., the police CCTV still showed the seized boat moored adrift. But later, at a round 8:10 p.m., it was found that the lights of three ships had been extinguished before changing direction, sailing away and disappearing. Until the morning of June 12, there were only two boats left moored, so officials detected an abnormality. The incident caused Pol. Lt. Gen. Jiraphop Phuridej, commander of the Central Investigation Bureau, to be transferred. Pol. Col. Intharat Panya, Superintendent of the 5th Marine Police Division, along with 3 other Marine Police officers, came to assist at the operations center. Central Investigation Bureau Due to negligence in the performance of duties, allowing the seized ship to disappear from control Thai police then coordinated with neighboring countries, especially Cambodia. to put pressure on the three ships that were expected to escape there until the accused could not stand the pressure All three ships must be removed from port in Cambodia. It was also discovered that one ship, named the Sea Hot or Silver Bracelet Ship, had changed its color to camouflage it. Marine police also suspect that some of the oil has been sold to neighboring countries. Most recently, on June 16, 2024 at 6:00 a.m., fishing boats in the network reported back that Found 3 missing stolen boats in the area. exclusive economic zone where the accused already has expertise in this area It was about 90 nautical miles from the coast of Songkhla Province, so they were able to identify it and found that it was a stolen boat that had disappeared and that there were 8 suspects on board, which matched the description of the suspects. In the JP boat, 4 suspects were found, the Si Hot boat found 3 suspects, and the Dao Rung boat found 1 suspect. In total, there were 8 people out of 15 people, and a total of 7 people disappeared. The ship is currently being towed into Thai waters but because one ship has broken down, movement back to Thailand is difficult. and later than scheduled which is now expected The boat can travel at about 4 knots due to the strong sea breeze. Expect it to take a long time. W hile Police Major General Charoonkiat Pankaew, Deputy Commissioner of the Central Investigation Police Said that the investigation method found that Sia J., who is thought to have fled to Cambodia, is the person behind this matter, but must be investigated clearly again. Police Major General Prutthiphong Nuchanart, Commander of the Marine Police Responding to a reporter's question about whether oil was still on the ship before it disappeared. They confirmed that 100% of the oil was on the ship because on May 17, officials from the Customs Department came to inspect the seized oil in order to auction the oil for sale. Since the seizure of the boats on March 17, all five boats had 15 crew members. Upon investigation, all crew members denied ownership but their true owners were not identified. Pol. Maj. Gen. Charoonkiat It also said that if the ship arrives, if it docks in Songkhla Province All 8 crew members will be taken immediately for questioning and will be detained at the Songkhla Provincial Police. At the same time, the Forensics Division will examine the three ships and the damage that has occurred, including the lost oil. Source: Thai News Agency