Kelantan: The tactic of using a foreign fishing vessel modified to resemble a local fishing vessel (VNT) to deceive enforcement authorities failed when the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) detained 14 Vietnamese fishermen in Kelantan waters yesterday.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Maritime Captain Kamal Mohamad, the director of MMEA, stated that the suspects were detained while the enforcement team was on their way back from participating in the EXTHAMAL Sea exercise in Thailand. The team then continued with routine operations under Op NAGA, Op DAMAI, Op Pelantar Merah, and Op TIRIS around Tok Bali.

The vessel was spotted approximately 85 nautical miles east of the Tok Bali estuary. Initial investigations revealed it to be a Vietnamese foreign fishing vessel modified to mimic a VNT. "The vessel was ordered to stop for inspection, but its tekong tried to flee before being detained at 6.32 pm," Kamal said during a press conference at the Kelantan MMEA Headquarters.

Kamal further stated that the 14 suspects, aged between 17 and 49, lacked valid licenses or identification documents. Further inspections uncovered over 500 kilogrammes of marine produce, believed to have been harvested in the country's waters. The suspects and the vessel were subsequently taken to the Kelantan MMEA office for further investigation under the Immigration Act 1959-63 and the Fisheries Act.