Police Uncover Carrot Seed Smuggling Syndicate in Surabaya, E. Java
Jakarta. Police uncovered a syndicate on Saturday (19/08) that has been smuggling carrot seeds from China to a warehouse in Surabaya, East Java.
"We have a suspect, S, who's been hiding the carrot seeds inside suitcases in a warehouse. An accomplice, N.F.S., helped to get the seeds through customs at Juanda International Airport," special crimes director Brig. Gen. Agung Setya said in a press release on Tuesday.
Agung said investigations showed that S smuggled the carrot seeds in two batches at two different dates: first smuggling 50 bags of seed on April 19 and later smuggling in 120 bags of seed on May 19.
The seeds were planned to be sold to farmers in Banjarnegara, Central Java, and Batu, East Java.
"They made an agreement with the farmers, who would get the carrot seeds for free, but would have to sell all their crops at a discounted price to a company called Sinar Abadi," Agung said.
Sinar Abadi is a Surabaya-based distributor of imported food.
Agung said S also kept at least 3.5 tons of Chinese carrots that were already harvested in his warehouse. S made huge profits from the carrots, abetted by skimping on their packaging.
"This type of smuggling activity has an enormous negative impact on the government's effort to maintain food stability," Agung said while pointing out that other, cheaper types of illegally imported carrot seeds are also available on the market.
Tags: Keywords: