1.4-tonne cyanide smuggling foiled in North Sulawesi

Indonesian Navy personnel thwarted the smuggling of 1.4 tonnes of cyanide from the Philippines into Indonesia. The hazardous cargo arrived via Bitung Ferry Port, North Sulawesi. According to Antara, the arrest was carried out by Quick Response Team 8 of the Naval Fleet Command VIII Patrol Unit, together with the Intelmar Kerapu-8.26 Task Force and the North Sulawesi Customs Directorate General on Wednesday 4 March 2026. At the time, officers were inspecting a green express freight truck that had disembarked from the Labuhan Haji Fast Ferry, on the Talaud-Bitung route, when it docked at Bitung Ferry Port. ‘In the inspection of a green express freight truck, officers found a cargo of cyanide, a hazardous chemical, packed in 29 sacks,’ said Vice Commander of the Naval Fleet Command VIII, Major General TNI Tony Herdijanto, on Saturday 7 March 2026. Tony noted that officers suspected the shipment because cyanide transport should receive special handling and be carried by a dedicated vessel. The cargo also lacked official documents, potentially endangering the safety of sailing and passengers aboard the vessel, he added. From the inspection of the 29 sacks, Tony continued, each sack weighed around 50 kilograms, so the total amounted to about 1,450 kilograms or 1.4 tonnes. The evidence was seized at the Koarmada VIII Headquarters for further legal proceedings. ‘Based on initial information, the illegal cargo is suspected to have originated in the Philippines and entered via Melonguane, Talaud Islands Regency, before being smuggled to Bitung aboard a freight truck that boarded a passenger ferry,’ he said.