Indonesian police foil bid to smuggle lobster eggs to Singapore

This article is more than 12 months old

Jun 13, 2017 06:00 am

JAKARTA: The Special Crimes Directorate of the Indonesian National Police has foiled an attempt to illegally export lobster eggs worth billions of rupiah to Singapore through Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

"We confiscated 208,756 lobster eggs inside eight suitcases," directorate chief Brigadier-General Purwadi Arianto was quoted as saying by tribunnews.com on Sunday.

Had the smuggling attempt been successful, state losses could have reached 31.3 billion rupiah (S$3.2 million), BG Purwadi said, adding that the police had questioned two people in relation to the case. The two were identified only as AM and WHY.

Police said AM was attempting to board a Garuda Indonesia flight to Singapore carrying 169,136 lobster eggs in six suitcases, while WHY, carrying 39,620 lobster eggs, took a Lion Air flight from Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, to Soekarno-Hatta, intending to fly on to Singapore.

AM is being charged with violating laws on fisheries and on quarantine, animals and plants, as well as violating the Criminal Code.

The police, in cooperation with other agencies, have released the lobster eggs on Carita Beach in Banten, keeping only 256 as evidence. - JAKARTA POST