The smuggling attempt could be foiled thanks to good collaboration between the intelligence officers of the Main Naval Base I and their colleagues from the Lhokseumawe Naval Base, Western Fleet Chief Rear Admiral Yudo Margono said here on Friday.
The navy`s intelligence officers were also convinced by the tip-offs from several local fishermen on Tuesday that a suspected speedboat coming from the Malaysian island of Penang might enter the Seruwei waters, he said.
Based on the given information, two personnel of the Seruwai marine police were deployed to launch a surveillance operation on Thursday at around 06.15 am local time.
Thirty minutes later, they saw a speedboat on the waters of Alur Kuala Peunanga Lama of Aceh Tamiang District, Aceh Province, but two people on board the speedboat refused to stop when they were ordered to do so, he said.
Therefore, the marine policemen fired a warning shot three times to stop them. Instead of surrendering, they attempted to reach a beach, he said adding that the two suspects jumped to the land and ran away to a wood, Yudo Margono said.
The on-duty personnel then checked the abandoned boat and found two big bags containing 62 packs of crystal meth weighing 67.4 kilograms.
He said the Western Fleet`s success in thwarting the smuggling attempt has proven the navy`s commitment to assisting the government in fighting against the drug trafficking.
The tip-offs from local fishermen and users of water-based transportation are very important because Indonesia`s border areas are so large that they cannot easily be monitored properly by the country`s law enforcers, he said.
As a result, the trans-national drug smugglers capitalize on the country`s geographical condition, he said.
Due to its close geographical proximity to Malaysia, Indonesia is vulnerable to such trans-border crimes as drug trafficking.
Indonesia`s National Narcotics Agency (BNN) personnel had recently nabbed Syafwadi for his alleged role as a drug courier for drug dealer Ibrahim alias Hongkong, former legislator at Langkat District`s legislative body representing the National Democrat Party (Nasdem) faction.
According to Deputy of the BNN Drug Control Inspector General Arman Depari, Syafwadi was alleged to have worked for Ibrahim by delivering crystal methamphetamine that he smuggled from the Malaysian city of Penang to the middle of the sea along with another suspect named Daus.
The suspect confessed to the agency`s investigators that he had delivered packs of crystal meth four times as requested by Ibrahim. "For each delivery that Syafwadi made, he received Rp80 million (US$1=Rp14,642),"Depari stated, quoting the suspect`s confession.
Reporting by Juraidi
Editing by Rahmad Nasution, Suharto
Reporter: A
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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