Customs officers foil explosives smuggling attempt

The Customs and Excise Office in Riau Islands has foiled an attempt to smuggle 75 tonnes of pure ammonium nitrate, which can be used in improvised explosive devices, on a ship from Malaysia to Selayar Island in South Sulawesi.

Nasar Salim, head of the office, told a press conference on Friday that the wooden ship was intercepted by a patrolling team off the coast of Mapor Island in Bintan on Wednesday.

The crew of the ship had intentionally taken a route with higher waves to avoid patrolling boats.

Nasar said that ammonium nitrate, which can also be used as fertilizer,  was classified as explosives and any imports of the substance should be approved by the Defense Ministry and the National Police.

The explosives were stored in 3,000 25-kilogram sacks, which say they contain 34.5 percent concentration of ammonium nitrate. Further investigation by the office, however, found that they contain pure concentration of the explosives.
 
“This (act of masquerading the explosives) has lead to suspicion that these explosives will be used for violence, but it would be the police's job to investigate further,” Nasar said.

Explosives smuggling is a punishable crime and carries a jail sentence of up to 10 years .