National Police Criminal Investigation Division Seizes Vessel Suspected of Distributing Illegal Tin Sand
Jakarta — The Directorate of Specific Crimes (Dittipidter) of the National Police Criminal Investigation Division (Bareskrim Polri) has seized a vessel suspected of being used to transport illegally distributed tin sand from the South Bangka region bound for Malaysia.
Director of Specific Crimes Brigadier General Irhamni said the seizure was the result of further investigation into a previously uncovered case involving the smuggling of 7.5 tonnes of tin sand to Malaysia.
“This vessel constitutes new evidence resulting from the ongoing investigation. Its function was to transport cargo from shore to the open sea, where the load would then be transferred to another vessel for dispatch to Malaysia,” he told reporters in Jakarta on Friday.
Irhamni said the seizure was carried out at the Kubu Dock area in Toboali, South Bangka Regency.
In addition to the vessel, he disclosed that investigators had secured a number of other items of evidence, including 50 kilogrammes of tin sand that had previously been set aside by Malaysian authorities.
“The evidence set aside amounted to 50 kilogrammes. However, a single shipment would amount to 7.5 tonnes,” he said.
Investigators also seized a number of communication devices used by the 11 perpetrators in the case.
He said the communication devices are currently being analysed to trace the network and uncover the principal actor believed to be operating in the South Bangka Regency area.
Previously, the Dittipidter of Bareskrim Polri had named 11 crew members from the Riau Islands who were deported from Malaysia as suspects in the criminal offence of smuggling 7.5 tonnes of tin sand.
The eleven crew members are MTA (23), LOM (24), RH (31), Z (50), A (41), B (47), H (53), S (29), J (39), Za (44), and I (52).
The suspects are residents of Pulau Belakang Padang, Batam City, and are all related. They were deported from Malaysia along with 122 other Indonesian migrant workers, with their repatriation facilitated by the Indonesian Consulate General in Johor Bahru and the Indonesian Migrant Worker Protection Agency (BP3MI) in the Riau Islands on 29 January 2026.
The case originated when the 11 crew members were apprehended by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (APMM) in October 2025 for entering Malaysian waters without proper documentation.
In Malaysia, the eleven perpetrators were charged with immigration violations and detained for three months at a Malaysian detention facility.
The repatriation of the 11 crew members was directly escorted by Dittipidter Bareskrim Polri investigators from Malaysia to Indonesia via the Batam Centre International Ferry Terminal in the Riau Islands.