Thai Authorities Detain 8 Indonesian Pirates, Seize Palm Oil

NARATHIWAT (Thailand), Nov 29 (Bernama) -- Thai authorities detained eight crew members of an Indonesian boat and seized 2.7 million litres of crude palm oil worth 60 million baht (US$1.82 million) at 9 am Friday morning. On questioning, the crew admitted they had robbed a ship, Sricadi 515, in Indonesian waters on Oct 9. Narathiwat Provincial marine police chief Mej. Pol.Puthinan Puthiranon said Indonesia had reported that an Indonesian-owned ship has been robbed by pirates. The Thai authorities comprising marine police, navy, Takbai immigration officers apprehended them when the pirates stopped in the Gulf of Thailand. He said they were detained for entering Thailand without valid documents, possessing crude palm oil without authority and owning a ship without valid documents. According to a member of the crew, they had sold 300,000 litres of crude palm oil in the last six days to Indonesian traders near Pattani waters. The crew members had been taken to Narathiwat police station for further investigations, he said. He said Thai police would report to the Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok on the arrests. --BERNAMA