Suitcase Containing Lobster Seedlings Worth Rp 2 Billion Foiled at Soekarno-Hatta, 5 People Arrested
Police have arrested five perpetrators smuggling lobster seed (BBL) at Terminal 1C, Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Banten. A total of 37,000 illegal lobster seeds valued at Rp 2 billion were seized by the police.
“In the uncovering of the BBL smuggling case estimated at Rp 2 billion, the police have arrested five perpetrators who were secured along with evidence consisting of 37,292 lobster seeds,” said Soekarno-Hatta Airport Police Chief Kombes Wisnu Wardana in his statement on Thursday (9/4/2026).
The uncovering took place during the security operations for this year’s Lebaran homecoming traffic conducted by the Soekarno-Hatta Airport Police Resort. The BBL smuggling was intended to be sent illegally to Singapore.
Wisnu said that the smuggling perpetrators used the method of sending lobster seeds via domestic flights to Batam. They then planned to smuggle them again by boat to abroad.
“The perpetrators took advantage of the homecoming holiday situation to deceive officers due to the increased mobility of passengers at the airport,” he stated.
The five perpetrators are initialled SS, VPS, ZK, EP, and JP. The police are still hunting two other perpetrators, namely IW and VM alias TE.
“Currently, the five perpetrators are undergoing intensive examination by investigators from the Soekarno-Hatta Airport Police Resort to uncover a broader lobster seed smuggling network,” he said.
Soekarno-Hatta Airport Police Resort Criminal Investigation Unit Head Kompol Yandri Mono explained that the uncovering of this case stemmed from information received by the Mobile Brigade Team regarding plans to send lobster seeds through Terminal 1C at Soekarno-Hatta Airport.
“The Mobile Brigade Team received information about the shipment of lobster seeds through the domestic departure terminal. Following up on that information, members immediately gathered evidence and patrolled the terminal area,” he said.
On Tuesday (17/4) at 02:00 WIB, officers conducted intensive monitoring in the Terminal 1C area. From the monitoring results, the police caught the perpetrator initialled SS red-handed in the terminal parking area.
“Perpetrator SS was secured while in a four-wheeled vehicle of the Mazda brand carrying a black suitcase containing lobster seeds,” said Yandri.
From the initial examination of SS, the police then developed the case and succeeded in securing another perpetrator initialled VPS at the Shell petrol station in the Soewarna area, Soekarno-Hatta Airport. VPS was known to have arrived using a Datsun vehicle.
“Investigators then found WhatsApp conversations between VPS and someone initialled ZK who is suspected to be the party arranging the lobster seed shipment. Based on that information, the team again developed leads to Warkop Agam, Taman Palem, West Jakarta,” he explained.
The police found three other people, namely ZK, EP, and JP, gathering. The three were then secured and brought to the Soekarno-Hatta Airport Police Resort for further examination.
The evidence secured includes a black suitcase containing 36,768 sand-type BBL and 524 pearl-type BBL, totalling 37,292 lobster seeds. In addition, the police also seized three vehicles, namely Toyota Calya, Mazda, and Datsun, as well as six mobile phones of various brands suspected to have been used in coordinating the smuggling.
For their actions, the perpetrators are charged under Article 92 in conjunction with Article 26 paragraph (1) of Law No. 6 of 2023 on the Enactment of Government Regulation in Lieu of Law No. 2 of 2022 on Job Creation into Law (UU Ciptaker) and/or Article 88 in conjunction with Article 16 paragraph (1) of Law No. 31 of 2004 on Fisheries and/or Article 87 in conjunction with Article 34 of Law No. 21 of 2019 on Animal, Fish, and Plant Quarantine. The suspects face a maximum penalty of 8 years in prison.