SINGAPORE - Seven men were arrested on Tuesday (May 21) for allegedly being involved in the illegal transaction of marine gas oil at the sea off Benoi Basin, which is near Jurong Island.

The suspects, aged between 20 and 48, were all nabbed as part of a joint operation between the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and Police Coast Guard.

Three of the suspects were crew members of a craft belonging to a marine service provider, while the other four were crew members of a foreign-registered tugboat.

The crew members of the marine service provider's craft are believed to have misappropriated three tonnes, or 3,000kg, of marine gas oil without their company's knowledge.

They then sold the marine gas oil to the crew of the foreign-registered tugboat, which was seized for investigations.

The three crew members of the marine service provider's craft were charged in court on Wednesday with criminal breach of trust as a servant.

If found guilty, they face up to 15 years in jail, and may also be fined.

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The four crew members of the foreign-registered tugboat were also charged in court on the same day with dishonestly receiving stolen property.

If found guilty, they may be jailed for up to five years, fined, or both.

The police said in a statement that the Police Coast Guard and the MPA take a serious view of the illegal transaction of marine fuel in Singapore waters.

"The Police Coast Guard will continue to conduct enforcement and security checks to prevent, deter and detect such illicit activities in Singapore waters," said the police.