Navy foils fuel smuggling attempts over past months

MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi (JP): The Indonesian Navy has caught three tanker ships attempting to export fuel illegally over the past three months, officials said.

Commander of the Navy's Eastern Fleet Commodore Ari Haryono said here on Monday that the first two large tanker ships weighing a total of 2,000 tons each were apprehended in waters off riot-torn Tual in Maluku in January. The other ship was caught in waters off Surabaya in the western part of East Java earlier this month.

The commodore said that the tankers carried a mixture of kerosene and diesel oil.

"The ships were all heading for Pontianak, the capital of West Kalimantan, where they planned to move the fuel to foreign ships pretending to be fishing boats," Ari said.

Meanwhile, Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Achmad Sutjipto reiterated that the Navy is intensifying its patrols in the north coastal areas as well as border areas such as the Malaka straits.

"It is impossible to watch all of our sea lanes but we will try our best to guard areas prone to smuggling," the admiral said.

Achmad assured that none of the military was involved in the stockpiling of mixed fuel through the country's seas.

"The Navy is not involved in any fuel swindling. That goes from the whole operational organization to the cooperatives," Achmad told media.

"But if there is any (Navy) member who commits such a violation, I guarantee a firm punishment for her or him," the admiral said.

Separately in the Bali capital of Denpasar, local police arrested a man identified as I Gusti Ketut Surya Widana, 50, for allegedly counterfeiting fuel coupons in a gasoline station.

Capt. Lukas Gunawan, chief of Denpasar police subprecinct said the coupons were printed in Singaraja, about 120 kilometers north of Denpasar.

"We are still hunting for another suspect," he said.

Each coupon is worth a nominal value of Rp 10,000 or 10 liter of gasoline. "The suspect asked motorbike taxi ojek drivers to help exchange the coupons for money," Lukas said.

The gas station has reportedly suffered more than Rp 1.4 million in losses due to the distribution of false coupons. (27/zen/edt)