Police Bust Syndicate Smuggling Subsidised Diesel in Surabaya
The Directorate of Water and Air Police (Ditpolairud) of the East Java Regional Police thwarted an attempt to smuggle hundreds of litres of subsidised diesel fuel at Tanjung Perak Port in Surabaya. The diesel was intended to be shipped to Central Kalimantan for industrial operations.
Dirpolairud of East Java Police, Commissioner Arman Asmara Syarifuddin, stated that in the operation, police seized around 930 litres of diesel packaged in dozens of jerrycans and arrested one suspect with the initials NNG.
He said the case came to light following a public report on Monday (20/2) regarding the shipment of diesel without official documents from Blora, Central Java, to Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan.
“Following up on this information, officers immediately conducted a search and inspection in the area of Tanjung Perak Port, Surabaya, Jalan Perak Barat, Pabean Cantikan Subdistrict, Surabaya,” Arman said during a press conference at the Ditpolairud Office of East Java Police on Thursday (23/4).
Arman explained that the suspect NNG carried out his activities by manipulating vehicle barcodes at petrol stations to obtain subsidised diesel. The diesel filled in the tank of a Hino truck with licence plate K 8779 NE was then drained into jerrycans.
Officers found at least 31 jerrycans hidden on the side of the vehicle’s cargo area. Each jerrycan had a capacity of between 25 and 30 litres.
“The fuel that had been transferred into jerrycans using a pump and hose was then shipped to Central Kalimantan and used in the suspect’s plastic waste processing operations,” he said.
Due to this illegal activity, the state is estimated to have suffered material losses of Rp300 million. In addition to seizing hundreds of litres of diesel, police also secured one truck used as a transport vehicle.
For his actions, NNG now faces severe punishment. He is charged under Article 55 of Law 22/2001 on Oil and Natural Gas as per Article 40 Number 9 of Law 6/2023 on the Stipulation of Government Regulation in Lieu of Law 2/2022 on Job Creation.
“With a maximum criminal penalty of six years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to Rp60 billion,” Arman emphasised.
At present, Arman said, his side is still conducting further investigations to determine whether there is involvement of other parties in the network for the illegal inter-island distribution of subsidised diesel.