Denying Nickel Smuggling Allegations, IWIP: Not Illegal Goods

Illustration of nickel (between)

PT Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP) has denied allegations that there was an attempt to transport nickel material without a permit at Weda Bay Special Airport, Central Halmahera, North Maluku.

Through a written statement received by VOI, IWIP management stated that the information circulating in the public was inaccurate.

"The material in question is not nickel, not illegal goods, and is not part of illegal activities. The material is a sample of minerals in the form of alumina from the aluminum industry belonging to one of the tenants in the IWIP Area for internal purposes, has an administrative permit, and is scheduled to be sent to Jakarta for laboratory testing," wrote the management, Monday, December 8.

Management revealed that at the time of inspection, the supporting documents for transport were not fully complete, so the delivery process was temporarily suspended.

"According to Weda Bay Special Airport security and operational procedures, any material that requires special handling and is not equipped with valid documents must be temporarily secured for the verification process," he continued.

IWIP also said that material detention was carried out by Aviation Security (AvSec) officers after being detected through an X-Ray examination prior to the boarding process, and not by external institutions.

"There is no confiscation, legal examination, individual detention, or investigation by parties outside the airport authority," the management wrote.

Currently the sample is under AvSec supervision and will be further processed after the completeness of the document is verified.

"IWIP is committed to carrying out operations in accordance with flight regulations, regional security standards, and guidelines for the relevant authorities," said management.

Previously, the Integrated Task Force (Satgas) stationed at PT Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP) Special Airport succeeded in thwarting efforts to smuggle mineral ingredients on Friday, December 5, 2025.

A foreign national (WNA) with the initials MY was arrested after being caught carrying five packs of mixed nickel powder and four packs of pure nickel powder via a Super Air Jet flight on the Weda Bay route Manado.

Anang said MY had now been handed over to the relevant authorities for further processing. Meanwhile, all mineral evidence will be examined by the competent authorities to ensure the content and potential for further violations.

"Currently, the perpetrators have been further processed by the relevant authorities and the evidence of mineral material smuggled will be further researched by the relevant agencies," he said

Anang explained that the smuggling was first detected by the Halilintar Forest Area Control Task Force (PKH) team, which has been monitoring the potential for smuggling mining products in the Weda Bay industrial area.

PT IWIP Special Airport itself has been operating since 2019 after receiving permission from the Ministry of Transportation. However, the results of the government's evaluation revealed that the facility has not fully met the minimum standards of state apparatus that are required to attend airports that serve the mobility of people and goods.