TRAT - The navy arrested 16 crew members of five Vietnamese trawlers for illegally fishing in the Gulf of Thailand in this eastern province on Tuesday afternoon.
Naval officers on board the HTMS Khirirat patrol ship spotted five foreign fishing trawlers encroaching on Thai waters at around 2.30pm.
The officers then signalled them for a search. All sixteen crewmen found in those Vietnamese vessels were subsequently caught, some of them sustaining injuries while trying to flee.
The injured were given first aid. All were taken to a naval base in Trat.
Cdr Kongkrit Ponying, commander of the HTMS Khirirat, said the five trawlers had encroached on Thai waters to catch fish and squid for 15 days.
Following a tip-off from local fishermen, the First Fleet dispatched the patrol ship to intercept those foreign trawlers.