The wooden vessel, with a crew of five, was caught by Bakamla patrol vessel KN Belut Laut near Rempang Island, a small island located southeast of Batam.

“We seized the vessel as it carried no [identity] documents, as well as for the cargo of fuel,” Bakamla operations director, Comdre. Nursyawal Embun told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

The wooden vessel reportedly collected the diesel from other ships selling it illegally, he said, adding that such vessels would usually go on to distribute or resell the fuel at the official price, for other vessels or for industry.

Bakamla would hand over the confiscated vessel to the Riau Islands Police’s Special Crimes Directorate for further investigation, Nursyawal added.

The vessel seized on Monday was the second vessel detained for allegedly attempting to smuggle fuel in the waters in western Indonesia this year.

On Feb. 17, Bakamla apprehended the Maxima Pratama Jakarta, an Indonesian-flagged tanker ship, in the waters bordering Indonesia and Singapore.

The ship’s crew, who were reportedly underage, were arrested for allegedly transferring 18 tons of illegal fuel to an unregistered vessel.

Separately, Bakamla chief Vice. Adm. Taufiqurrahman acknowledged that cases of illegal fuel distribution were still rampant in border areas.

“We will intensify monitoring of our waters to curb the illegal activity,” he said. (gis/afr)

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