Coast Guard divers bust black-market oil traders in south

Coast Guard special forces helped bust black-market oil traders in Kaohsiung last Friday by snorkeling in the ocean for nearly seven hours then ambushing the smugglers while on their fishing boats.

Kaohsiung said a group led by suspect Chen Chih-hsien (陳志賢) and his wife Chen Li-chen (陳麗貞) colluded with local fishermen to buy their boat oil -- which they buy cheaply through government subsidies -- then ship it inland for sale to underground buyers at below-market prices.

DISGUISES

With lookouts disguised as fishermen surrounding the port where the oil was unloaded onto modified trucks, police determined that the only way to catch the smugglers in the act was to lie in wait in the water.

The navy is typically responsible for special operations and this was the first time a coast guard team -- which had been trained by the marines -- was responsible for this kind of specialized mission.

Coast boats dropped the 40 divers in the ocean outside the port at 7pm.

CLOSE CALL

The mission was almost called off, however, when the smugglers began their work three hours later than expected at 2am.

Commanders ordered the divers to come back, worrying they would be too exhausted to continue after so many hours in the water.

But the coast guard divers insisted they weren't willing to waste all that time and effort by calling off the mission.

At around 1am smugglers in rafts began scouring the area for police.

They failed to discover the divers because the teams had split up, diving below the surface to avoid detection.

After the fishing boats arrived and the teams had regrouped, they received orders to sneak into the harbor, where they stormed the boats at approximately 2am.

SUSPECTS

Thirty suspects were captured in total.

The two Chens, who were directing from the shore, fled the scene in separate cars. Police later captured Chen Li-chen in Kaohsiung's Fengshan City (鳳山), while Chen Chih-hsien was arrested outside his home in Kaohsiung City.

Investigators Miaoli County uncovered the racket at the end of last year when they discovered that machinery used by a black-market gravel ring was running on boat oil.