inp.polri.go.id - Medan. Teluk Nibung Customs and the Tanjungbalai Asahan Quarantine Service Unit, North Sumatra, thwarted the smuggling of 1,519 protected animals of horseshoe crab.

"Thousands of horseshoe crabs were going to be smuggled to Malaysia through Teluk Nibung Port," said Head of the Teluk Nibung Customs Office Nurhasan Ashari in Tanjung Balai, Friday (5/30/2025) as quoted from Antaranews.

Nurhasan said the effort to thwart the smuggling of the horseshoe crab began with information regarding the smuggling of protected animals in the area, prompting the authorities to take action.

In an inspection at the warehouse where they  temporarily stored the horseshoe crab, the authority found approximately 1,519 horseshoe crabs, 37.8 kilograms of mussels, 17 kilograms of tiger snails, 20 kilograms of clam meat and four kilograms of cincaro fish were found.

"They attempted to smuggle protected animals through ships loaded with export commodities at Teluk Nibung Port, Tanjungbalai," Nurhasan explained.

Nurhasan added that the evidence has been taken to the Teluk Nibung Customs Office to be recorded and counted, then handed over to the Tanjung Balai Asahan Animal, Fish and Plant Quarantine Center.

"We appreciate the public who have provided information on the smuggling at Teluk Nibung Port," he said.

It is worth mentioning that horseshoe crabs have been used since ancient times, both for consumption and biomedical and environmental studies.

Horseshoe crab blood plasma extract is used to diagnose meningitis and gonorrhea which are widely used in European countries, the United States, Japan and West Asia.

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