Oil smuggling is a multi-billion baht lucrative business in the Deep South
Oil smuggling racket has long been suspected of connected with southern insurgency problem and income from the racket has been used to fund the activities of separatist gangs.
But no real action had been taken against the "big fishes" in the racket until mid July this year when a local businessman, identified as Mr Sahachai Jiensermsin, alais Sia Jo, who was suspected to be one of the influential smugglers, was taken into custody at the order of the National Council for Peace and Order.
A search of Sia Jo’s company, Sahasap Thavee Kha Mai limited partnership in Pattani, in early August uncovered about 100 million baht in cash and valuables which were frozen. However, the freezing of the assets was connected with the bankruptcy lawsuit filed against Sia Jo for tax evasion charge.
Investigation into Sia Jo’s suspected involvement in oil smuggling racket has, so far, made little headway. No hard evidences have been unearthed to implicate him of involvement in oil smuggling activities.
Several local businessmen, local officials and politicians as well as some Malaysian companies in Kelantan state are suspected of involvement in the oil smuggling business which was estimated by observers to worth between 50-100 billion baht annually. Some of the big-time oil smugglers are also involved in drug trafficking.
Barges or fishing boats which were converted to carry oil were used to carry oil from tankers in the high sea off Songkhla, Koh Samui, Koh Pha-ngan, Bang Saphan in Prachuab Khiri Khan or Trat. The oil originated from Brunei, Singapore or Malaysia where the selling prices are much cheaper than in Thailand.
Each tanker carries between 700,000 – 2,000,000 litres of oil while the modified fishing boats can each carry 30,000 – 200,000 litres of oil depending their sizes.
A programme to assist fishing fleet of a neighbouring country was said to contribute to brisk oil smuggling business. It was reported that a high-ranking official in Kelantan state of Malaysia has surreptitiously doubled the number of fishing boats eligible to government support from 200 to 400 boats.
These additional boats were involved in oil smuggling instead of engaging in fishing activities.
An security official in the Deep South estimated that between 100-150 million litres of oil worth 2-3 billion baht were smuggled into Thailand each month.
Some of the oil smugglers in southern Thailand might have bought oil from Middle Eastern countries facing sanctions from western governments for allegedly supporting terrorism.
It is a wellknown fact that oil smuggling activities have been made possible because bribes have been paid to almost if not all state agencies in the region and their officials from the top down to the bottom. The amount of bribes was estimated at about 25 million baht a month.
One unnamed source in the National Security Council once said that if the bribe-taking officials are to be removed all officials in the region may have to be transferred.
The source cited an example when the driver of a oil tanker disembarked from the vehicle when it was stopped at a border checkpoint. He asked the official who stopped his truck: "What is the problem? Is there any agency which was not taken care of?"
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Caption : Map showing the route of illegal oil smuggling in the Gulf of Thailand.