Rogue NT tour operator caught by undercover police
A ROGUE tour operator got more than he bargained for when the group he thought he was ripping off turned out to be undercover cops.
Fishing
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A ROGUE tour operator got more than he bargained for when the group he thought he was ripping off turned out to be undercover cops.
Water police had been tipped off Mark Geering, from Lucindale in South Australia, had been conducting fishing tours from King Ash Bay each year without a licence under the name Northern Territory Fishing Adventures.
Officers emailed Geering and travelled to King Ash Bay posing as civilians, where they were told they could book a fully guided fishing trip for eight days to the North Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria for $2000 each.
They met Geering at 6.30am on September 2 at the King Ash Bay boat ramp and, noting he had duly supplied enough provisions for eight days, made their move.
On Wednesday, he was found guilty in the Darwin Court of Summary Jurisdiction of operating an unlicensed business and using an unregistered fishing vessel. He was fined more than $9000.
Geering also received an eviction notice from the King Ash Bay Fishing Club.
Water Police Senior Constable Sean Stanley, a licensed fishing tour operator before joining the force, thanked Territorians for their help in ridding the waterways of rogue operators.
"There are a lot of costs involved with being a fishing tour operator," he said. "You have licence fees, wages to pay, public liability, boat and vessel insurance, food and accommodation expenses, advertising costs and wear and tear on your vehicle, boat and trailer.
"When you have rogue operators coming into the Territory and offering fishing tours without being licensed, they are undercutting the (operators) who are doing the right thing.
"Because they don't have the operation expenses of the licensed operators, they can charge a lot less and the paying client thinks they're getting a better deal but this could not be further than the truth."
He also said insurance would not cover the costs if someone was hurt on a trip.