Authorities Stop Smuggle of 300,000 Lobster Seeds Bound for Singapore

TheIndonesia.id - The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries blocked an attempt to smuggle up to 300,000 lobster seeds to Singapore via Batam waters in Riau Islands on Sunday, August 28.

Director general of marine and fisheries resources surveillance (PSDKP) at the Ministry Adin Nurawaluddin said the seeds were worth up to Rp 30 billion (US$2.1 million) and would be shipped on a speedboat through the eastern coast of Sumatra to Singapore.

“The perpetrator fled, but we managed to confiscate the speedboat and 65 boxes of lobster seeds,” Nurawaluddin said on Monday, August 29, as reported by Antara.

It was reported that each box consisted of 24 bags, and each bag carried 200 lobster seeds. So in total, there were about 300,000 seeds.

Furthermore, it was later found out that there were 288,000 sand lobster seeds and 12,000 pearl lobster seeds. And with the assumption that each sand and pearl lobster is valued at Rp 100,000 and Rp 150,000, respectively, the total value of the confiscated seeds was around Rp 30 billion.

According to Nurawaluddin, upon receiving initial information about the smuggling, a team was deployed to carry out monitoring since the morning of Sunday. However, perpetrator allegedly found out about the operation and was forced to start the transporting at dusk while Singapore could only receive the commodity at 5.30 p.m. local time at the latest.

As it was starting to get dark, team spotted speedboat movement towards Singapore at 6.30 p.m., but it then returned to Indonesia.

The speedboat reportedly crashed into corals in Sambu waters during a chase, and the perpetrator managed to run away.

The Ministry will investigate the individual involved in the smuggling, also based on information from Singaporean authorities.

Based on Law on Fisheries in Indonesia, the export of lobster seeds is illegal as the Ministry aims to encourage domestic farming and meet domestic demand for lobster.