Philippine authorities have seized a Malaysian vessel with 400,000 liters of smuggled diesel fuel on board on the remote Filipino island near the Sabah border.
A Filipino military spokesman, Lt. Col. Abdurasad Sirajan, has confirmed the apprehension of the vessel Marnia Penang whose crew members were caught unloading drums of fuel to a Philippine tanker Jaslyn Stacy Legazpi which is based in Navotas City.
He said patrolling members of the 112th Marine Company and the Philippine National Police in Turtle Islands caught the two vessels on Saturday, January 28.
“According to Brig. Gen. Romeo Racadio, commander of Joint Task Force Tawi-Tawi, personnel from the Taganak Municipal Police Station received information stating that an illegal loading of diesel is being undertaken in the area. Troops of the 112th Marine Company, together with the Maritime Police and the PNP Turtle Islands, conducted a joint maritime security patrol and validated the information,” Sirajan said.
He said Marnia Penang sailed from Malaysia with 16 crew members on board to unload 400,000 liters of diesel to a local vessel from Navotas which has 13 crew members.
“The vessels were anchored at the seawaters of Lihiman Island for the past three days before the apprehension,” Sirajan said.
During interrogation, Rodrigo Sarol, boat captain and manager of the motor tanker Jaslyn Stacy Legazpi, revealed the vessel linked up with Marnia Penang in the area to load diesel, and they are still waiting for another vessel loaded with additional 200,000 liters of diesel to arrive.
Lt. Gen. Roy Galido, chief of the Western Mindanao Command, has ordered security forces to strengthen patrol on the border.
“We do not tolerate any illegal activity in our area of operation. I commend all those concerned citizens who bravely feed us information regarding the illegal activities conducted in their locality. Rest assured that the Western Mindanao Command, through its joint task forces and Navy component units, will remain steadfast in curbing maritime crimes and other illegal activities,” he said.
The military did not release the names of the owners of the two tankers.
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