Inp.polri.go.id - Batam. Brigadier General Nunung Saufuddin, the Indonesian National Police (INP) Criminal Investigation Agency Director of the Specific Crimes Unit, revealed on Thursday (17/10/2024) that the police have mapped out the entire supply chain of lobster seed smuggling via land networks, aiming to prevent the illegal trade and capture the perpetrators.

“For the past two months, we have been mapping out the smuggling routes from the source to the final destination,” he said during a press conference in Tanjung Balai Karimun..

The investigation focused on Sumatra, dividing the areas into two: the origin of the lobster seeds—East Java, West Java, Banten, Lampung, and West Sumatra—and the smuggling routes through South Sumatra, Jambi, and Riau, according to antaranews.com.

On Monday, a joint team from the INP Criminal Investigation Agency, the Directorate General of Customs, and Lantamal IV Naval Base in Tanjung Pinang seized 46 styrofoam boxes containing 237,305 lobster seeds and one high-speed craft (HSC), suspected of being smuggled to Malaysia via the Riau Islands.

The police have identified two suspects, CM and RI, who remain at large. They are also investigating the involvement of foreign buyers.

The smuggling method involves consolidating the seeds in southern Java, Banten, and Sumatra, before packaging and shipping them overseas using high-speed vessels.

(mg/inp/pr/nm)