Mra Htwee Shin, 25 March 2022
Two wood smuggling cargo boats along with one boatman were seized by the
Burmese navy near Thekone village
under Pauktaw township of Rakhine State last night after several gunshots were fired, said
local residents.
Around 15 people were on board among whom one was captured while the others
escaped.
Both the cargo boats were chased by the navy team as those were sailing near the Bay of Bengal on 24
March by 5 pm from the direction of
Sittwe.
“I heard that both the boats were asked to stop by the navy team but they did not respond and tried to go
away. Then the navy personnel fired
several gunshots on the boats. Soon they successfully captured the boats at Minte port. One boatman was arrested and the rest ran up the nearby hills,” said a local resident from Thekone village adding that one of the fleeing boatmen
sustained injury.
The navy personnel took away the boats along with the boatmna. Locals suspect that the boats might
have carried woods to
Bangladesh but they have no idea
whether it was a legal deal or not.
Narinjara News tried to contact the Rakhine State security and border affairs minister Colonel Colonel Kyaw
Thura and State council spokesman
Hla Thein with queries about the development event, but could not get access.
(Photo by Rakhine daily)
