Report: Three Indians Among Crew Members Detained On Singapore Ship Transporting Drugs

Three Indian citizens are among the crew who have been apprehended by Indonesian authorities on a Singaporean vessel for transporting narcotics to Brisbane, as per a news report.

Acting on a tip, the Indonesian authorities intercepted the freight vessel, named Legend Aquarius, in the Pongkar waters of the Karimun district, about one hour from Singapore by ferry.

It was staffed by 10 Indonesian crew members, including the leader.

Three Singaporean Permanent Residents of Indian descent were also on board. They are allegedly the proprietors of the narcotics and had arranged the journey, police commissioner-general Marthinus Hukom, chief of the Indonesian National Narcotic Agency (BNN), informed journalists at a press briefing in Batam.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore stated that on Wednesday, it was notified about the detention of a Singaporean vessel, Legend Aquarius, by the Indonesian authorities, as per the Singapore Daily.

“MPA is in touch with the vessel owner to confirm the details and has advised the company to collaborate with the Indonesian authorities on the inquiries,” the broadsheet cited MPA as saying.

During the press conference, Inspector-General Wayan Sugiri, BNN deputy for eradication, mentioned that the vessel departed Singapore on July 9 for a private port in Johor Bahru.

While at the private port on July 12, the three Indian-origin Singapore PRs – whose initials police revealed as RM, SD and GV – loaded the illegal narcotics onto the vessel and stashed them in the engine room.

The ship leader and nine crew members had earlier been instructed to exit the vessel and take a break on shore.

The three PRs have resided in Singapore for periods ranging from six to eight years, and each of them possesses academic qualifications in vessel engineering, as per the authorities.

“Based on our interrogations of the three foreigners, they had planned to travel to Surabaya, Dili, Papua, then Brisbane, Australia. But we will verify this, in case they did not tell the truth,” the Singapore newspaper quoted Inspector-General Wayan.

He also mentioned that the authorities had received a tip about the illicit shipment from members of the public whom he refused to identify. He added that the vessel crew were not involved in the offense.

The harshest penalty for a conviction on charges related to the trafficking of illegal narcotics is a capital punishment, as per the 2009 anti-narcotics law.

The crackdown on smuggling by Indonesia comes amidst escalating consumption of illicit drugs in the area.

On February 23, BNN and the Central Narcotics Bureau of Singapore agreed to establish a strategic partnership to combat illicit drugs in Southeast Asia, as there had been an increase in such offenses as well as a growing complexity in controlling them.

BNN chief Marthinus stated that Indonesia will collaborate with its Singaporean counterparts to exchange information and data, as well as cooperate on enforcement and joint operations, Indonesian state news agency Antara reported on February 23.