RI to Timor Leste fuel smuggling goes unabated
RI to Timor Leste fuel smuggling goes unabated
Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang
Fuel smuggling has been widespread over the Batam-East Kalimantan
border and also over the border of West Timor regency and the
neighboring country of Timor Leste, causing hundreds of thousands
of U.S. dollars in losses to Indonesia.
A senior Army official alleged that the fuel was smuggled via
both sea and land transportation into the neighboring country.
The diesel fuel is allegedly smuggled out by tanker from South
Sulawesi province, while kerosene and premium are dispatched to
the neighboring country over the border between West Timor
regency and Timor Leste.
The illegal export of fuel has been on the rise due to the
price disparity between Indonesia and Timor Leste. The price of
premium, kerosene and diesel fuel is lower in Indonesia as it has
been heavily subsidized by the government, while the price of
fuel is higher in the neighboring country as there is no
government subsidy.
Due to the higher prices in Timor Leste, irresponsible parties
in Indonesia, with the help of their Timor Leste counterparts,
have smuggled fuel and gasoline into the neighboring country as
other smugglers have done over the border between Batam and
Singapore.
In Timor Leste, the price of kerosene is Rp 7,500 a liter,
premium Rp 10,000 a liter and diesel fuel Rp 7,500 a liter, or
approximately five times the Indonesian price.
The Indonesian Army claims to have fought smuggling for years,
but the illicit activity has continued unabated.
"The surveillance by Timor Leste Police and the Army has been
weak. As an example, along the Motaain and Nunura border, there
are six Indonesian Army posts but no Timor Leste Police or
military outposts," said Lt. Col. Yul Aviandi, the chief of an
Indonesian task force assigned to secure the Indonesian and Timor
Leste border.
The Indonesian Army has foiled several smuggling attempts into
Timor Leste but still the illicit operations continue. Yul
estimated that in a month some 2,000 liters of gasoline and fuel
had been smuggled into Timor Leste, causing huge losses to the
state.
Belu Police chief overseeing West Timor regency Adj. Sr. Comr.
Ekotrio Budhiniar claimed the smuggling was organized by West
Timor residents who cooperated with their relatives in Timor
Leste.
The rampant smuggling over the Indonesian and Timor Leste
border has also been confirmed by local residents. Fuel and other
basic necessities have been smuggled into East Timor via unmapped
routes that are infrequently used. "It's hard to stop the
smuggling because the illicit activities have allegedly been
backed by security personnel," said Mundus Sako, quoted as saying
by Antara news agency.
The antismuggling operations have targeted petty traders who
are caught with five to 10 liters of fuel, while the big traders
are left untouched, said Mundus.
Fuel smuggling hit media headlines in the past week after
reports surfaced of Pertamina officials' alleged involvement in
fuel smuggling in Batam and East Kalimantan.