Indonesian Navy Thwarts Smuggling of 16 Tonnes of Illegal Tin Sand
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Navy (TNI AL) foiled an attempt to smuggle 16 tonnes of illegal tin sand at a warehouse in the Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK) 2 area, Tangerang Regency, Banten.
Deputy Commander of Kodaeral III, Brigadier General TNI (Marine) Dian Suryansyah, stated during a press conference at the Indonesian Fleet Command headquarters on Tuesday that the arrest was carried out by units under the Naval Regional Command (Kodaeral) III on Saturday (9/5), in collaboration with relevant law enforcement agencies.
It was mentioned that the arrest began with information regarding the shipment of tin sand using two trucks from Tanjung Balai, Karimun, to Jakarta.
Dian continued that the two trucks were heading to Lampung and then to Java island via sea route.
“Intelligence units from Lanal Lampung also monitored that the goods had already been loaded onto a ship and were about to cross to Java,” Dian said.
Dian further explained that after arriving on Java island, the trucks were continuously monitored by TNI AL personnel until they passed through the Cilegon area and finally entered the warehousing area in PIK 2.
“This means that the two trucks carrying 16 tonnes of tin sand were not in the processing or refining operation area for tin sand, but instead in the Jakarta city area,” he emphasised.
When the trucks arrived at the warehouse in the PIK 2 area, TNI AL personnel immediately raided the two trucks and inspected the drivers and their loads.
He said that from the inspection results, they found photocopies of auction minutes from the Batam State Assets and Auction Service Office (KPKNL), stating that PT Mineral Anugrah Semesta was the winner of the auction for the 16 tonnes of tin sand.
Not only that, TNI AL also found cooperation partner documents stating that PT Mineral Anugrah Semesta must sell the tin sand to PT Timah in Bangka.
“This is the basis for us to show that if it was indeed to be sold to PT Timah from Tanjung Balai Karimun, it should have been redirected towards Bangka,” said Dian.
Based on the suspicious movements and route of the tin sand shipment, TNI AL took action due to concerns that the goods would be exported illegally.
TNI AL collaborated with investigators from the Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) team to seize all evidence.
Dian explained that this arrest is part of TNI AL’s efforts to eradicate the smuggling of Indonesia’s natural resources illegally.
He hopes that the revelation of this case will serve as a deterrent to all parties to abandon intentions of stealing Indonesia’s natural resources for personal gain.