Jayapura (ANTARA) - Indonesian soldiers from the Indonesia-Papua New Guinea (PNG) Border Security Task Force successfully thwarted an attempt to smuggle 700 liters of subsidized fuel to PNG.
The task force personnel, serving at the 122/Tombak Sakti (TS) Infantry Battalion, also seized two motorbikes not equipped with legal documents, three smartphones, and bills worth 3,341 Papua New Guinean kinas (around US$866).
Lt. Col. Diki Apriyadi, the battalion's commander, noted in a statement on Wednesday that the smuggling attempt could be prevented due to the vigilance of soldiers who spotted two suspicious-looking people riding motorbikes on an illegal path connecting Indonesia and PNG on Tuesday evening.
The soldiers then ambushed the riders and inspected their motorbikes as well as the items they were transporting.
Following the inspection, the soldiers found that three PNG citizens were involved in an attempt to smuggle a total of 700 liters of fuel placed in 20 jerry cans that had been at the portal of the border and were about to be smuggled.
The five smugglers, along with their seized items, were then brought to the Kout Post of the battalion, where they were questioned.
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It was then revealed that the smugglers obtained the subsidized fuel from a resident of Koya in Muara Tami, Jayapura City, Papua. The perpetrators planned to sell the fuel in PNG.
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"After the interrogation, we delegated this case to Muara Tami Police for further legal proceedings," Apriyadi said.
