Customs official thwart attempt to smuggle 17,000 baby lobsters out of Bali

Authorities said the baby lobsters were worth around IDR 2.6 billion (USD 182,750). Photo: Bea Cukai Ngurah Rai
Authorities said the baby lobsters were worth around IDR 2.6 billion (USD 182,750). Photo: Bea Cukai Ngurah Rai

Customs officials from Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport thwarted an attempt to smuggle over 17,000 baby lobsters yesterday. A man from Central Java was arrested for the alleged crime.

“The attempt to illegally export baby lobsters was made by a male ground handling staff with the initials AP from Wonogiri, Central Java,” said Himawan Indarjono, the chief of Ngurah Rai Customs Office, as quoted in an official statement. 

Himawan explained that the attempt had been made in the early hours of Monday and that customs officials had received a tip from members of the public.

AP was caught attempting to load the goods into an aircraft at 6am. Authorities seized 19 plastic bags containing baby lobsters, which AP had hidden in a backpack placed inside a cardboard box labeled “Paper Cup.” 

Photo: Bea Cukai Ngurah Rai
BKIPM Bali said the baby lobsters would be released on Serangan Beach in southern Denpasar. Photo: Bea Cukai Ngurah Rai

Authorities said the baby lobsters were worth around IDR 2.6 billion (USD 182,750). 

As reported by Tribun-Bali, AP has been working as a ground handling staff at the airport for four years. Authorities said this was his fifth time smuggling illegal goods, and he reportedly received IDR 20 million (USD 1,406) for each previous attempt. 

The Fish Quarantine and Quality Control Agency (BKIPM) in Bali said the baby lobsters would be released on Serangan Beach in southern Denpasar. 

“In Indonesia, we have an abundance of baby lobsters and they have a high selling price. Vietnam was the smuggling destination, maybe because they don’t have many of them there,” Anwar, who heads BKIPM Class 1 in Denpasar, told Tribun-Bali

Under the country’s 1995 Customs Law, AP faces a maximum of eight years in prison and a fine of IDR 500 million (USD 35,153).

Read more news and updates from Bali here.



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