Police foil smuggling of 270 tons of sugar in Nias<\/p>\n
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra<\/p>\n
Police here said on Wednesday that they had foiled an attempt to
\nsmuggle around 270 tons of sugar allegedly from Myanmar to Gunung
\nSitoli, Nias regency, North Sumatra province, in a coordinated
\nraid.<\/p>\n
They also arrested a local businessman suspected of brokering
\nthe shipment, identified only as Ahu, and 10 crew members of a
\nboat used in the attempted smuggling, including the 24-year-old
\ncaptain, Riswal, a resident of the neighboring regency of Tanjung
\nBalai.<\/p>\n
The detainees are all being questioned intensively at the Nias
\nPolice station.<\/p>\n
\"We are currently developing the investigation. It is clear
\nthat the suspects violated Article 102 of Law No. 10\/1995 on
\ncustoms,\" criminal detective chief of the North Sumatra Police
\nSr. Comr. Satria Hari Prasetya told The Jakarta Post here.<\/p>\n
He said the smuggled sugar was shipped from Klang Port,
\nMalaysia, and arrived at 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday night at Gunung
\nSitoli, the capital of Nias.<\/p>\n
The smugglers were caught amid intensive raids launched by
\npolice to crack down on the rampant smuggling across North
\nSumatra.<\/p>\n
Satria said the smugglers seemed to know about the police's
\nOctopus Operation that specifically targeted small seaports run
\nby private companies.<\/p>\n
\"That's why the smugglers have been trying to find new
\nlocations in North Sumatra to ship in their illegal commodities
\nfrom abroad,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said that Tuesday's smuggling of sugar to Gunung Sitoli was
\nthe first such case uncovered by the police, as smugglers usually
\nused ports in Belawan and Tanjung Balai as safer places to unload
\ntheir illegal goods.<\/p>\n
\"It appears that the smugglers were trying to find new
\nalternative locations to bring in their smuggled goods through
\nhere,\" he said.<\/p>\n
It was not clear whether the smuggling involved security
\npersonnel, who have widely been accused of backing and protecting
\nsuch operations.<\/p>\n
Some officials and residents said smuggling continued in a
\nseemingly unchecked manner through at least 15 small seaports in
\nthe province, despite the presence of security forces.<\/p>\n
\"Usually, goods smuggled to and from abroad are loaded and
\nunloaded at small seaports throughout the night,\" said Syaiful
\nGanda, a fisherman from Tanjung Balai.<\/p>\n
\"There are always security people around when the smuggled
\ngoods are loaded and unloaded,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Some of these ports are located between larger ports in
\nTanjung Balai and Bagan Asahan, while others are found in Nibung
\nBay and Es Dengki.<\/p>\n
On Sept. 5, 2003, police foiled an attempt to smuggle around
\n100 tons of plastic products from neighboring Malaysia to Tanjung
\nBalai. The shipment, allegedly belonging to a businessman from
\nMedan, was reportedly unloaded at 9:25 p.m.<\/p>\n
Syaiful and other fishermen said such illegal practices have
\nbeen occurring for a long time in and out of the small ports.<\/p>\n
Adj. Sr. Comr. Adityawarman, chief of security at Belawan port
\nin Medan, did not specifically deny the widespread accusations
\nthat certain officers were involved in the smuggling.<\/p>\n
Officials of local excise and customs offices were mostly to
\nblame, because they were the front line in dealing with marine
\nsmuggling cases, he said.<\/p>\n
He confirmed that smugglers had been operating mostly along
\nNorth Sumatra's east coast, ranging from Belawan, Asahan and
\nTanjung Balai to Labuhan Batu.<\/p>",
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