Banten Lanal Failed To Smuggle 77,800 Lobster Seeds Worth IDR 7 Billion To Vietnam

Banten Lanal Commander, Marine Colonel (P) Arif Rahman and his staff during the release of the case (DOK ANTARA)

The Banten Naval Base (Lanal) Joint Task Force managed to thwart the attempt to smuggle 77,800 clear lobster seeds (BBL) to Vietnam via the Sumatra Island route. Banten Lanal Commander, Marine Colonel (P) Arif Rahman said the BBL smuggling failure was carried out by a joint task force team in the Kubang Saron area, Ciwandan, Cilegon City, last Thursday. At that time, the vehicle carrying BBL was about to go to Merak Harbor to cross to Lampung. A total of 7,800 lobster seeds consist of 73,000 sand types and 4,800 pearls, he continued, were secured from 14 boxes of Styrofoam. Dozens of boxes containing lobster seeds were smeared using a thermoking truck by camouflage where the box containing BBL was stored on the inside, then closed with an empty styrofoam box. "We managed to do this failure after reconnaissance. So 78,000 BBL lobster seeds were smuggled by hiding them in the car and then camouflaged with piles of empty Styrofoam boxes," said Marine Colonel (P) Arif Rahman. at Mako Lanal Banten, Cilegon, Antara, Friday, June 14. In addition to finding 77,800 BBLs estimated at Rp7 billion, officers also arrested a suspected perpetrator with the initials LMP (47) for questioning because they were suspected of being linked to a network of BBL smuggling in the Lampung area. "We have secured the driver and driver for further inspection," said Marine Colonel (P) Arif Rahman.

The commander of Lanal Banten hopes that the community will no longer do illegal ways in the future. Especially now, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries has prepared regulations so that BBL becomes an opportunity for the people of Indonesia, especially fishing communities, in improving the economy by empowering BBL. Currently, the cultivation of public fuel has not been maximized and many have made deliveries abroad without procedures.