Dogs used to stop smuggling

SERANG, West Java: Local police here are using sniffer dogs at the Merak ferry crossing port to prevent the possibility of illegal drug and firearm smuggling from Sumatra into Java.

The Bakauheni-Merak ferry crossing port is quite prone to smuggling attempts of marijuana from Sumatra to Java, Banten police chief Col. Soebandy said.

"We deemed it urgent to use sniffer dogs because drug traffickers have long used the port as a place to smuggle the contraband from Sumatra," he said as quoted by Antara yesterday.

The news agency also reported that police in Pandeglang, 53 kilometers from the Merak harbor, have seized three packs of marijuana and 10 packs of heroine from four suspects at the Carita tourist beach resort.(bas)