BKHIT Kepri and Navy discover illegal imported onions entering Natuna

The Animal, Fish and Plant Quarantine Agency (BKHIT) of the Riau Islands and the Indonesian Navy have discovered illegal imported shallots entering Natuna Regency.

The officer in charge of the Natuna Quarantine Service Unit, Iwan Setiawan, said in Natuna on Wednesday that the shallots entered via sea using domestic transport, namely the Roll On-Roll Off (Ro-Ro) ferry KMP Bahtera Nusantara (BN) 01, on Wednesday afternoon.

Besides shallots, officers also found a number of other commodities, such as dried chillies, anchovies, apples, pears, grapes, carrots, and processed meat products. The commodities were detained because they were not accompanied by clear documentation.

The commodities, he said, have been secured at the Natuna Service Unit Office for further action.

“We are still counting the quantity. For now, the shallots amount to hundreds of sacks,” he said.

Iwan explained that the discovery was made during a joint operation with the Ranai Naval Base (Lanal Ranai).

The operation was carried out to maintain order and prevent the entry of carriers of animal, fish and plant diseases that have not been reported or accompanied by quarantine documents as required for the movement of such products.

During the operation, he continued, Lanal Ranai deployed a number of personnel and vehicles to transport the detained commodities.

He expressed his gratitude to Lanal Ranai for its role in making the achievement possible.

“These goods were transported by ship and loaded onto lorries. We inspected around four lorries,” he said.

Meanwhile, Commander of Lanal Ranai, Naval Captain (P) Yusuf Yanto, said the Indonesian Navy is ready to assist any agency in taking action against various forms of legal violations in the Natuna Regency area.

According to him, inter-agency synergy is needed to prevent and take action against the entry of illegal goods that could potentially harm the state and the public. The Navy, he said, will not tolerate any form of activity that violates the law.

He stressed that surveillance of sea routes will continue, given that the Natuna region has a number of access points that can be exploited to bring in goods without official documents.

“We hope this serves as a lesson for various parties not to engage in activities that violate the law again,” he said.