Hiding fishing vessel monitoring equipment, 12 individuals sentenced to prison

On February 19, in Ngoc Hien District, Ca Mau Province, the People's Court of Ca Mau Province held a mobile trial to adjudicate the case of "Disrupting the operation of electronic devices".

The defendants brought to trial included: Truong Van Sang (born in 1987, Quarter 4, Rach Goc Town, Ngoc Hien District, Ca Mau Province), along with 11 accomplices: Huynh Van Son (born in 1991, Rach Goc Town, Ngoc Hien District, Ca Mau Province); Luong Van Hum (born in 1988), Mai Van Hai (born in 1986), Tran Van Khanh (born in 1990), Le Truong Giang (born in 1990), Tran Minh Duong (born in 1992), Mai Thanh Tan (born in 1997), Tran Van Vi (born in 1979), Nguyen Toan Trung (born in 1988), Luong Van Canh (born in 1991), and Vo Van Tuu (born in 1999), all of whom are residents of Kien Giang Province.

According to the indictment, Truong Van Sang worked as a captain, frequently going out to sea to fish and was knowledgeable about the maritime area, coordinates, and fishing vessel monitoring equipment (VMS). During his fishing activities at sea, Sang was aware that many fishing vessels removed their VMS devices and stored them with other vehicles (within Vietnam's territorial waters). He then directed the vessels to foreign waters, where they engaged in illegal fishing to avoid detection.

In order to generate additional income, Sang prepared the necessary tools and rented a fishing vessel registered as CM-08710-TS to store the VMS devices from other fishing boats for illegal profit. He provided the phone numbers and coordinates for 10 other defendants, all captains of various fishing boats, including: Luong Van Hum, Mai Van Hai, Tran Van Khanh, Le Truong Giang and Tran Minh Duong, so that they could send their VMS devices to Sang's vessel. These devices were used to operate the boats in foreign waters to engage in illegal fishing and purchase cheap fuel for more than 168 hours.

The defendants Mai Thanh Tan, Tran Van Vi, Nguyen Toan Trung, Luong Van Canh, and Vo Van Tuu sent their VMS devices to be stored by Sang’s vessel to operate in foreign waters for illegal fishing and to purchase fuel at cheaper rates, for a duration of less than 168 hours.

From September 2024 to 4:00 AM on October 17, 2024, defendants Sang and Son received and stored 9 fishing vessel monitoring devices but were caught in the act before they could collect any payment.

At the mobile trial, the court panel determined that the defendants' actions were dangerous to society, negatively impacting the efforts to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in Ca Mau Province in particular, and the entire country in general.

Based on the indictment, the defendants' testimonies, and the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the court sentenced the defendants as follows: Truong Van Sang was sentenced to 10 years in prison; Huynh Van Son to 6 years in prison; Luong Van Hum to 8 years and 6 months in prison; Mai Van Hai to 8 years in prison; Tran Van Khanh to 7 years and 6 months in prison; Le Truong Giang to 7 years in prison; Tran Minh Duong to 5 years in prison; Mai Thanh Tan to 4 years and 6 months in prison; Tran Van Vi to 4 years in prison; Nguyen Toan Trung to 4 years and 3 months in prison; Luong Van Canh to 3 years and 6 months in prison; and Vo Van Tuu to 3 years in prison for the charge of "Disrupting the operation of electronic devices," as specified under point đ, Clause 3, Article 287 of the Criminal Code.