KEMAMAN: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) detained three Vietnamese fishing boats while a fourth escaped after intruding into Malaysian territorial waters near Pulau Tioman to fish illegally.
Three Vietnamese skippers and 46 crew of the boats, aged 20 to 50 years, were also arrested.
MMEA also seized 350kg of fish and 500kg of cuttlefish which together with the three boats was worth RM2.5 million.
DM 8 Operations Director-cum-acting Chief Enforcer Maritime Commander Rahim Ramli said MMEA were able to detect the Vietnamese fishing boats 18 nautical miles off Pulau Tioman at noon yesterday, after receiving a tip off at 8.30am.
He said they tried to dupe MMEA by using registration numbers of local boats.
“We saw four boats performing tow coupling activities when we arrived at the scene. But, realising our presence, one of the boats quickly cut the trawl net and sped off but we managed to nab the rest,” he told reporters at the Kemaman Maritime Base in Bukit Kuang here, today. — BERNAMA