TNI Disrupts Mercury Smuggling Packed with Spare Parts

Commander of Kodaeral III Laksda TNI Uki Prasetia (center) during a press conference at the Kodaeral III Headquarters, North Jakarta, Monday, June 8, 2026 (ANTARA/Walda Marison)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Navy through the Regional Command of the Navy (Kodaeral) III thwarted an attempt to smuggle mercury chemical liquid from Maluku to Jakarta by being packaged as spare parts.

Commander of Kodaeral III, Rear Admiral TNI Uki Prasetia, said the failure occurred on Tuesday (2/6).

"This case is followed up in the field based on the results of coordination and cooperation between the Pam Pelni TNI AL Team," said Uki at a press conference at the Kodaeral III Headquarters, North Jakarta, Monday, June 8, reported by ANTARA.

Uki explained that the arrest began when port officers, namely PAM Pelni, carried out a routine inspection of passengers and cargo on a ship docked at Tanjung Priok Port.

The officers were on duty checking the cargo and passengers of the KM. Nggapulu which departed from Maluku to Tanjung Priok, Jakarta.

During the inspection, officers suspected that there was a container covered with a blue tarpaulin in the storage area of the ship's goods.

The officers then checked the completeness of the documents from the container and matched them with the goods inside.

"In the manifest document, the data box with the number P26052790034450001 is 1 box from Namlea with spare parts. However, when checked, the goods in the container are not spare parts," said Ukimen explained.

Uki continued, the officers even found 42 mercury-containing conductors packaged in a box. Upon finding the findings, the officers immediately confiscated the illegal goods.

After being confiscated, PAM Pelni officers then handed over this item to Kodaeral III to be handed over to the police for legal handling.

Until now, Uki has not been able to determine who the dealer and supplier of this illegal goods are. He also has not been able to explain who the parties involved in this action are.

He can only ensure that this smuggling action is very detrimental to the community and the country.

"Referring to the price of mercury for the export market of around Rp2,400,000 - Rp2,800,000 per kilogram, it is estimated that the state's losses will reach around Rp1.5 billion in this case," said Uki.

Uki hopes that this case can be investigated thoroughly by the police.

With the momentum of revealing this case, Uki wants to emphasize that the Indonesian Navy is always committed to eradicating all forms of illegal smuggling of goods on the sea route.