Rattan smugglers foiled in Kendari

Rattan smugglers foiled in Kendari

KENDARI, Southeast Sulawesi: Intelligence agents here have
foiled an attempt to smuggle 130 metric tons of high-quality
rattan aboard the ships MV Kapili Putra and MV Teluk Kulisusu
bound for Singapore.

"They came across the two vessels anchored off the coast of
Wandoka, on Wanci island, last week," the head of the provincial
forestry office, AR Idris, said here yesterday.

After checking the ships' documents, Idris said the agents
discovered that the papers on the rattan were fake.

The agents later took the vessels to Ereke village, Kulisusu
subdistrict, and turned them over to local authorities for
further investigation.

The owner of the rattan, estimated to be worth tens of
millions of rupiah, has yet to be identified, he said as quoted
by Antara.

Early last month, intelligence agents on sea patrol also
confiscated 150 tons of rattan from two vessels as it was being
smuggled to Singapore.