Continued from page 53
Perreault Magazine - 54 -
Finally in early March the STEVE IRWIN reported to Indonesian authorities that they had found and tracked the VIKING into Indonesian waters. Captain Chakravarty notified the Indonesian government and the VIKING was quickly intercepted by the Indonesian Navy.
There would be no bribes in exchange for freedom. Indonesia acts swiftly and decisively when it comes to unregistered illegal poaching ships. The VIKING is scheduled to be sunk by the Indonesian Navy on March 14th and Sea Shepherd will be pleased to witness the destruction of one of the vessels that Sea Shepherd has pursued for over a year.
The Bandit Six; one sunk and another about to be sunk and four arrested.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry cited Sea Shepherd for this achievement. Interpol has acknowledged publicly that the Sea Shepherd was the primary player in stopping the notorious toothfish poachers.
And this week the final blow came down with the arrest by the Spanish police of six people in Galicia, Spain, all six of whom are members of the Vidal family, the owners of Ribeiro Vidal Armadores.
They all stand accused of illegal fishing of toothfish in the Southern waters and these are the people that Sea Shepherd has been pointing a finger at from the beginning. The raid on the Ribeiro Vidal Armadores company was carried out by the Spanish Civil Guard, Interpol and Europol and reflects the seriousness of the charges against them. They have been charged with crimes against the environment, money laundering, falsifying documents and membership in a criminal group.
These people are facing very high fines and prison sentences and they will appear before the Spanish High Court to answer to the charges against them. The six Spaniards are today in jail with their bonds set at 100,000 euros each.
In the newspaper La Voz de Galicia Sea Shepherd applauded the arrests. "For more than a decade the owners of the Bandit 6 have remained hidden behind a halo of mystery. Sea Shepherd's actions to end their fishing operations have been successful. With boats offside, investigations and raids on land by various Spanish authorities are reaching the source of illegal trafficking," said Captain Chakravarty. Sea Shepherd has also highlighted the significant role played by continued international cooperation in the fight against illegal fishing.