Hundreds of tons of sugar seized in Medan

MEDAN, North Sumatra: North Sumatra Provincial Police have seized 310 tons of smuggled sugar from Malaysia and Thailand during a regular inspection operation one month ago.

The police also seized 24 trucks which were being used to transport the sugar to various destinations in Medan, Binjai and Labuhan Batu.

The police questioned the 24 truck drivers, but none of them have been named suspects.

North Sumatra Provincial Police chief of detectives Sr. Comr. Satria Hari Prasetya said that the smuggled sugar entered the province via Nibung Gulf Port in Tanjung Balai and was to be transported to Medan, Binjai and Labuhan Batu by using trucks.

The smuggling attempts were foiled by the police during a number of raids in several spots between Nibung Gulf Port and the trucks' ultimate destinations.

During the inspections, the police let go trucks equipped with proper documents, while they nabbed others which had no documents explaining that the sugar was legally imported from the neighboring countries.

The smuggled sugar, packed in 6,200 sacks, is now being kept in the nearby Asahan police station, while the 24 truck drivers were still being held as of Friday, along with their trucks.

The drivers claimed that they were merely contracted by businessmen living in Medan, the capital of North Sumatra province, so that they could not be charged with smuggling.

The police are still looking into the case. -- JP