CUSTOMS PATROL BOAT SINKS IN TANJUNG PINANG

Jakarta Forum - Jakarta, A customs patrol boat BC-20001 went down in the waters between Karang Selatan and Tanjung Pinang near Tanjung Pinang, Riau islands, Thursday.

Spokesman for the Customs and Excise Directorate General Evi Suhartantyo said here Thursday the patrol boat sank when going after boats carrying smuggled goods.

"The 28-m patrol boat sank in very rough weather," Evi, adding that its skipper and crew had been rescued by another customs patrol boat BC-7005.

Riau islands, near to Singapore and Malaysia, are very prone to smuggling activities.

Some time ago customs personnel foiled the smuggling of hundreds of bags of second-hand clothes from Singapore to Batam.

The perpetrators passed the Singapore-Indonesia border by rivers and small islands from Singapore to Gundap, Batam. KM Masita carried 600 bundles/bags of used clothes estimated at Rp 5 billion.

The Riau Islands customs patrol boat caught MV Berkat Jubaidah carrying the smuggled goods. It was sailing from Malaysia to Southeast Sulawesi. (H-NG/B/b003/B003).

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