PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, April 25 (RIA Novosti) - Russian border guards in the Sea of Okhotsk have seized a refrigerated fish transport flying the flag of Belize on suspicion of poaching, a spokesman for the Northeastern border control department said Wednesday.
Two border ships and a patrol boat involved in the operation succeeded in stopping the poachers after 20 hours of pursuit.
A check revealed that after delivering a cargo to the trawler Shipunsky, registered in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the refrigerated fish transport Mongoose planned to take a load of crabs from the trawler to a foreign port.
Border guards discovered about 5.3 metric tons of illegal catch of frozen cooked crab legs on board the Shipunsky. Lieutenant-General Alexander Lebedev, head of Northeastern border control department, ordered the two ships seized and convoyed to the port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky for further investigation.