11 men arrested for illegal sale of marine gas oil; second such case in a month

SINGAPORE - In the second case of marine oil theft in a month, 11 men were arrested by the Police Coast Guard (PCG) for their suspected involvement in an illegal transaction of Marine Gas Oil (MGO).

In a media release on Monday (Feb 5), the Singapore Police Force said the men – aged between 23 and 45 – were caught after the PCG received information on Jan 19 that an unknown foreign-registered vessel was believed to be involved in an illegal sale of 200 metric tons of MGO.

The fuel has an estimated market value of S$97,000.

Through follow-up investigations, PCG officers traced and found the vessel – a tugboat – at the sea off Bedok Jetty on Feb 5. Nine crew members of the boat were arrested for purchasing the stolen fuel.

Subsequent investigations led to the arrest of another two crew members of a Singapore-registered tanker for misappropriating MGO on board without their company’s knowledge, and selling it to the crew of the tugboat.

The tugboat was seized for investigations.

The 11 men will be charged in court on Wednesday (Feb 7) under the Criminal Breach of Trust offence. If convicted, they can be jailed up to 15 years and fined.

This is the second case of illegal marine oil sale in a month.

On Jan 8, 17 people were arrested for their suspected involvement in a multi-million dollar fuel heist from Shell Singapore’s plant in Palau Bukom. Of the arrested, 11 were charged in court.

According to court documents, among the accused are eight Singaporeans who were employees of Shell when the crime was allegedly committed.

There is another Singaporean suspect who is not an employee of the company.