Bakamla Catches 2 Fish Thieves Ship From Malaysia On Rupat Island, Riau

The Bakamla KN Bintang Laut 401 ship captured two fishing thieves boats from Malaysia around the Malacca Strait, waters of Riau Rupat Island (ANTARA)

BATAM - Bakamla KN Bintang Laut 401 caught two fishing thieves boats from Malaysia around the Malacca Strait, waters of Riau Rupat Island.

Bakamla officers at KN Bintang Laut 401 also secured 10 crew members with a cargo of around 500 kg of mixed fish on board.

Director of Marine Operations (Diropsla) of Bakamla RI Laksma Bakamla Suwito said KN Bintang Laut 401 received a suspicious contact on the radar screen while on patrol.

As soon as he got a suspicious contact, Commander of KN Bintang Laut 401 Lieutenant Colonel Margono immediately approached and found a Malaysian fishing boat pulling its net, catching fish without a permit.

The foreign fishing boat broke the net and tried to escape, when it learned of the presence of the Bakamla patrol boat. However, due to the alertness of KN Bintang Laut 401 officers, the efforts of the two ships were stopped.

Currently, officers are still conducting further investigations to find out other potential violations, particularly in order to prevent drug smuggling into Indonesia through the waters of the Malacca Strait.

The two fishing vessels are planned to be brought to Dumai to undergo further processing.