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