Prosecution of 2 captains for illegal fishing in foreign waters

(Chinhphu.vn) - On November 3, information from Ho Chi Minh City Police said that the Ho Chi Minh City Police Security Investigation Agency has prosecuted and temporarily detained two captains who took their ships to illegally fish in foreign waters.

Subjects Le Van Hoi and Le Van Au at the police station.

Accordingly, on October 28, the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department of Security Investigation received the case of "Organizing illegal exit for others" initiated by the Border Guard Command - City Command on October 23, 2025 to continue investigating and handling according to authority.

Immediately after receiving the case file, on October 28, the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department of Security Investigation issued a decision to prosecute and an arrest warrant for Le Van Hoi (born in 1976, residing in Long Hai Commune, Ho Chi Minh City), the owner of two fishing boats BV-93169-TS and BV-93269-TS; a decision to prosecute and an order prohibiting Le Van Au (born in 1982, Hoi's younger brother; residing in Long Hai Commune, Ho Chi Minh City) from leaving his place of residence for the crime of "Organizing illegal exit for others". On the same day, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Procuracy issued decisions approving the decisions and orders of the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department of Security Investigation.

Investigation results determined that on April 3, 2025, Le Van Hoi operated the BV-93269-TS fishing boat captained by Le Van Hoi and the BV-93169-TS fishing boat captained by Le Van Au, taking 12 fishermen to leave Tan Phuoc Port, Long Hai Commune, Ho Chi Minh City, to go fishing. On April 7, 2025, Hoi operated the two boats to Tho Quang Port, Da Nang City. Here, Hoi turned off the journey monitoring device of the two fishing boats. On April 9, 2025, Hoi did not complete the departure procedures but mobilized two boats with 14 crew members (including two captains) to leave Tho Quang Port to travel through foreign waters to illegally fish.

To deal with the detection of the authorities, Hoi cut off the power supply to the voyage monitoring device and the AIS (nautical chart machine) on the fishing vessel. On May 12, 2025, while fishing in foreign waters, the BV-93269-TS ship captained by Hoi and 11 crew members on board was arrested by foreign authorities for illegal fishing in the waters of the host country. The BV-93169-TS ship and 3 crew members escaped to Vietnamese waters.

After being handled by foreign authorities, Ship BV-93269-TS and 11 crew members were released to Vietnam, and the incident was reported to Vietnamese authorities. On July 5, 2025, the two fishing boats docked at Cat Lo Port, Phuoc Thang Ward, Ho Chi Minh City.

Strictly implementing the direction of the Prime Minister, the leaders of the Ministry of Public Security and the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City on strictly handling illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department's Investigation Security Agency focused on and urgently deployed investigation activities, within just 5 days of receiving the case file. On November 1, 2025, the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department's Investigation Security Agency completed the investigation and transferred the file to the City People's Procuracy for prosecution.

Previously, the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department of Security Investigation had prosecuted 5 cases, 6 defendants related to IUU violations, all cases have been completed, the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department of Security Investigation has concluded the investigation and proposed prosecution, including cases that have been tried by the Mobile Court. This is an outstanding result of the security investigation force in particular, and the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department in general in implementing the police task of combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The resolute criminal handling of a number of IUU-related cases and incidents has a warning, deterrent, educational , and general preventive effect on fishermen, contributing to a significant reduction in the number of fishermen violating IUU regulations, and contributing to the country's overall efforts in removing the European Union's yellow card for Vietnam's seafood sector.

Through these cases, Ho Chi Minh City Police recommend that people strictly comply with regulations on combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and any violations will be strictly handled.

Le Nguyen

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/khoi-to-2-thuyen-truong-danh-bat-hai-san-trai-phep-o-vung-bien-nuoc-ngoai-102251103095526005.htm