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RI intercepts second vessel carrying tons of crystal meth
Busted: Customs officers check bundles of confiscated methamphetamine in Jakarta on Tuesday
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span class="inline inline-center">Busted: Customs officers check bundles of confiscated methamphetamine in Jakarta on Tuesday. The National Narcotics Agency (BNN), Customs and Excise Office and navy reportedly foiled an attempt to smuggle more than 1 ton of methamphetamine in waters off Batam, Riau Islands, and arrested four Taiwanese nationals.(JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
Customs and excise officials on Tuesday seized another foreign vessel believed to have attempted to smuggle more than 1 ton of crystal methamphetamine into the country via the waters surrounding Batam in Riau Islands province.
The vessel, Min Min Yun Yun, was reportedly carrying 1.6 tons of crystal meth, slightly more than the 1.3 tons said to have been carried by the MV Sunrise Glory, which was intercepted by the Navy on Feb. 7.
The Taiwanese boat seized on Tuesday was using a Singaporean flag, though all of the crew have reportedly been identified as Chinese nationals, namely Tan Mai, 69; Tan Yi, 33; Tan Hui, 43; and Liu Yin Hua, 63. They have been detained for further questioning.
The crystal meth, estimated to be worth millions of dollars, had been stored inside 81 bags.
Riau Islands Police chief Insp. Gen. Didid Widjanardi told reporters at Sekupang port that the raid was made after a four-month investigation by the National Police’s antinarcotics squad.
“The arrest is the result of the cooperation between the Jakarta Police, the National Police antinarcotics squad and Customs and Excise Office. The vessel posed as a fishing vessel from Taiwan, though when it was intercepted it was using a Singaporean flag.”
The authorities are still investigating whether the Min Min Yun Yun ship was part of an international drug syndicate that also deployed the MV Sunrise Glory, which also used a Singaporean flag.
Batam Customs and Excise Office head Susila Brata said his office had deployed patrol ships to intercept the Min Min Yun Yun soon after being tipped off by the police that it was passing the waters surrounding Batam on Feb. 15.
The patrol boats sailed to Anambas on Feb. 18. “On Sunday, we found the location of the boat and chased it,” Susila said.
The boat was seized on Tuesday near the Karang Heleng Mars and Karang Banteng waters.
National Narcotics Agency (BNN) deputy head for drug control Insp. Gen. Arman Depari previously said almost 80 percent of drug smuggling was conducted via the sea.
It is believed that vessels like the MV Sunrise Glory and Min Min Yun Yun had been used by a transnational drug syndicate to supply drugs to countries in Asia.
“Since several countries such as China and the Philippines have taken serious actions to eradicate narcotics and drugs, there has been an increasing flow of narcotics to Indonesia, which is widely perceived to have a large market for distributing drugs.”
The Indonesian market has long been considered by drug producers as very large and having potential because it has a population of more than 250 million, 40 percent of which are young people, Arman said.
“Narcotics supplies previously intended for China and the Philippines will probably flow into Indonesia. It is our responsibility to prevent that from happening.”
The MV Sunrise Glory was a fugitive vessel the BNN had been monitoring since the end of November 2017 because it was captained by the ex-captain of the Vanderlust, a ship seized by the police in Anyer, Banten, in July last year after being found carrying 1 ton of narcotics.
The ship first entered the waters of Sibolga, West Sumatra, on Dec. 10 using the name Shun De Man 66. However, four days later, the ship sailed toward Australia.
Australia warned Indonesia about the ship not long after it returned to Indonesian waters.
On Jan. 8, the ship sailed in the waters near Jurong beach, Singapore, and changed its name to the Shun De Chin 14.
The ship was intercepted by KRI Sigurot 864 when it passed the waters of Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone near the Phillips Channel, which is close to the south of Singapore.
Four crew members of Taiwanese citizenship, the ship’s captain Cheng Chung Nan, the ship’s chief Chen Chin Tun and two others, Huang Chin Nan and Hsieh Lai Fu have been detained pending investigation.
Separately on Tuesday, BNN chief Comr. Gen. Budi Waweso told a press conference in Jakarta that the narcotics seized from Sunrise Glory were worth Rp 2 trillion (US$140 million). “This means we have saved 5 million of our young people from drugs,” he said.
