Customs And Excise Prevent 121,942 Lobster Seeds Worth Rp18.4 Billion Smuggled Into South Sumatra

A Palembang Customs officer shows lobster seeds that were secured during a crackdown on June 7 and 12, Monday, June 14 (Nova Wahyudi/Antara)

JAKARTA - The joint operations team of the Customs and Excise of Sumbagtim and Pabean B of Palembang thwarted the smuggling of 121,942 lobster seeds worth Rp18.4 billion in South Sumatra (Sumsel) in two different captures.

Head of the Customs and Excise Supervision and Service Office of Middle Type B Palembang, Abdul Haris, in Palembang, Monday, June 14, said that 55,005 individuals were caught on Monday, June 7 and 66,937 individuals on Saturday, June 12.

"There is one perpetrator with the initials BU who we have arrested and handed over to the KKP," he said as quoted by Antara.

According to him, the arrests began when the Customs and Excise officers of Sumbagtim and Pabean B Palembang carried out routine patrols to monitor illegal cigarettes on Sumatra Route (Jalinsum) area of Banyuasin Regency, South Sumatra.

When officers conducted a vehicle sampling, one unit of a private vehicle was suspected for carrying clear packages which when examined turned out to contain thousands of lobster seeds.

However, he said that the driver of the car quickly fled, so the joint team then carried out developments because it was suspected that there was still a network that would smuggle lobsters.

Furthermore, on June 12, the joint team received information on the whereabouts of the lobster seed smuggler and managed to catch him on Soekarno-Hatta street, Palembang City.

"We are still investigating the perpetrator's information, while information is obtained from the perpetrator, the lobster seeds came from Lampung and do not know where they will be taken because the perpetrator is suspected to be a courier," he said.

Lobster seed smuggling, according to him, is almost the same as drug trafficking, which involves networks and is carried out in a relay chain to trick the officers.

The smugglers have violated Article 92 in conjunction with Article 26 of the Republic of Indonesia Law Number 31 of 2004 concerning Fisheries as amended by Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 45 of 2009 concerning Fisheries.

The Head of Sub-Section for Supervision, Control and Information (Wasdalin) of the Palembang Fisheries Quarantine Center, Erik Ariyanto, added that the lobster seeds that had been secured had been released into Lampung and Banten areas.

"This smuggling action plays a major role in efforts to preserve Indonesia's marine resources. We really appreciate the work of the Sumbagtim and Palembang Customs and Excise teams," he also said.