Riau Islands Customs foils attempt to smuggle tin sand

Riau Islands customs patrol boat has foiled an attempt to smuggle tin sand worth around Rp2 billion on South China Sea on Thursday. The tin sand boat was on its way to Malaysia.

The operational head of the Riau Islands Province customs office, Andhi Pramono, said the boat containing tin sand carried Indonesian flag and appeared to have known routes usually passed by the custom office patrol boat.

He said it has been known that for years smugglers' boats pass rough open sea routes to avoid patroling customs boats. ?After we analyze possible routes used by smugglers, we finally managed to chase them. With often five meters wave, it is difficult for customs patrol boats to pass the routes used by smugglers,? he added. (Ikranegara)