Car smuggling attempt foiled

BATAM: The local customs office in Batam foiled the attempted smuggling of 12 luxurious cars from Singapore to Jakarta and arrested the alleged owner of the vehicles.

Local councillors who inspected the crime scene said that the owner of the cars claimed he was a brother of Vice President Hamzah Haz.

"There are reports from the custom office saying that the owner claimed himself to be the vice president's brother," councillor Fransiscus Simbolon said on Saturday.

The illegal cars were held in a warehouse at the Batam seaport, pending the customs office's investigation.

Batam has been a regular transit area for car smugglers. In 2002, the customs office confiscated 45 illegal vehicles imported to country, but the results of the investigation into the case remains unclear. -- Antara