Ship seized for smuggling sugar

Ship seized for smuggling sugar

BATAM, Riau Islands: Batam Customs Office personnel have
apprehended the Golden Lestari cargo ship for allegedly smuggling
150 tons of sugar into Indonesian territory.

The Indonesian-flagged vessel was nabbed in waters near Tekong
Island, Riau Islands province on Friday while heading to
Pekanbaru from Singapore, a senior customs official said on
Saturday. "The ship and its 12 crew was arrested as the crew were
unable to show us documents stating that the sugar was legal
property," said Souvenir, the chief of Prevention and
Investigation Section at Batam Customs Office.

Sugar smuggling to Indonesia has been rampant because of the
price gap between Indonesia and neighboring countries like
Malaysia and Singapore. While Indonesian sugar is sold for about
Rp 5,000 (0.5 U.S cents) per kilogram, in Malaysia and Singapore
sugar is sold for Rp 2,700 per kilogram, half of Indonesian
price. -- JP