Pinoy skipper, 5 Chinese nabbed for sand mining

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines – Police arrested five Chinese and the Filipino captain of a Chinese vessel for allegedly mining sand in Tagoloan town in Misamis Oriental Sunday.

The Chinese – Gouwen Wu, Jianxin We, Yungcheng Liu, Zhongru Wu and Tomas Wong – were allegedly caught loading sand on M/V Yue Hue Zhou H0 8998, Senior Inspector Maricris Mulat, town police chief, said.

Aside from the Chinese, authorities also arrested ship captain Rodolfo Meneses Gabinete for failing to show permits and documents allowing them to mine sand in the area.

Mulat said the ship has been under surveillance by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) for suspicious activities in Luzon and Mindanao.

She said the PCG impounded the vessel at a private port in the area.

Mulat said she received a call at about 2 p.m. from the PCG, asking for assistance to intercept the vessel.

Authorities found in the ship an echo sounder device, which can determine the depth of the waters and minerals in any area.

The suspects were detained at the Tagoloan police station.