'Pelni ferries used for smuggling'

Fadli ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Batam   |  Sat, 07/26/2008 11:25 AM  |  The Archipelago

PT Pelni passenger ferries plying the Jakarta to Medan route by way of Batam are overloaded and exploited by smugglers, a Batam city councilor says.

Batam authorities have been implemented in the smuggling of electronics goods and luxury car parts.

"We have received reports and found out that individuals from customs, security and the police have forged a collusion with smugglers," Batam city councilor Ruslan Kasbulatov said.

"They receive bribes every time a Pelni ferry docks at the port in Batam, and allow the goods to be slipped out by turning a blind eye," he added.

The Batam municipal council has urged the Directorate General of Customs and Excise in Jakarta to send in a team to investigate customs officers at the Sekupang Port for their alleged role in condoning smuggling, which incurs massive tax losses upon the state.

"We have repeatedly asked authorities to thoroughly inspect goods carried by Pelni vessels," said Ruslan.

Based on information gathered by The Jakarta Post, Pelni vessels have been used to smuggle goods shipped from Batam to Jakarta and Medan. Most of the smuggled goods are electronic appliances, including television sets, tape decks, VCD and DVD players and luxury car parts that mostly originate in Singapore.

Due to a lack of scanning equipment, customs officers are forced to manually check for smuggled goods. However, goods are often hidden inside well packaged containers, including sealed boxes.

Customs officers rarely bother to check the contents of such containers, preferring instead to accept the declarations of the goods' owners without question, he said.

Smugglers often employ porters to bypass customs by transporting the goods directly to the dock and loading the goods onto the ships themselves.

Goods carried on the ships are often placed in passenger compartments, leading to dangerously cramped quarters.

Head of the Sekupang Port Marine and Coastal Security Unit Kustino said his office had repeatedly called for passenger safety to be increased aboard Pelni ferries, which reportedly are often overloaded.

"They (the passengers) are stubborn and disturbances onboard the ships are common. Passenger overloading has become a problem and we will address it again," said Kustino.

Pelni's Batam manager Jhoni Siregar said his company was unaware of the smuggling activities, and that it was up to the customs office to determine whether goods were being smuggled.

"If the ship captain decides to set sail, then the ship is fit to sail. And it isn't true that overloaded ferries are forced to travel," said Jhoni.

Novrial, the head of the Batam Customs and Excise office, was unavailable for comment.

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