REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, KUTA -- I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport's management is cooperating with Bali's Narcotics Agency and the Denpasar Fish Quarantine, Quality Control, and Security of Fish Products Hall (KIPM) to prevent smuggling of illegal drugs and fishery products.

"We are highly committed to eradicating any concept and approach that can harm the nation's morality, especially illegal drugs. We are also committed to preserving the future by preventing any attempts to smuggle lobster seeds," General Manager of I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport's PT Angkasa Pura I, Yanus Suprayogi stated after the signing of a letter of local agreement in Patra Jasa Kuta, Badung Sub-district, Bali, on Friday.

The letter of local agreement was signed by Suprayogi as well as Head of Bali's Narcotics Agency Brigadier General I Putu Gede Suastawa and Head of Denpasar KIPM Hall Habrin Yake.

The three entities will strengthen cooperation following the inking of the agreement that was derived from each agency's central bureaus and is being implemented on the field.

The cooperation will enable the management to be more proactive by involving not only Angkasa Pura I's internal divisions but also all airport stakeholders in order to prevent and eradicate the misuse and illegal circulation of drugs and fishery products.

Head of Bali's Narcotics Agency Brigadier General I Putu Gede Suastawa said that air transportation is one of the options often chosen by drug smugglers to bring narcotics into the area through different methods.

"The cooperation opens up broad access for us to conduct investigations and follow-ups on examination results on the possibility of people smuggling drugs through the Ngurah Rai Airport," he said.

In 2017, the National Narcotics Agency has unearthed several drug smuggling cases, including that of three foreign nationals caught in possession of the contraband, Indonesian Domestic Workers, and two perpetrators from Medan and Batam currently being investigated.

Strict inspections are being conducted not only on passengers and luggage but also on local employees, including cabin crews, pilots, and co-pilot, in order to ensure flight security.

"We also have the right to selectively conduct urine tests on every crew and pilot in the hotels they are staying in," he added.

Meanwhile, Yake said the cooperation will allow his office to eradicate the smuggling of fishery products through new modes.

Yake cited the latest modus operandi used by smugglers in which the items were concealed in the passengers' personal luggage.

Other methods that should be anticipated include a recent case reported at one of the airports in Indonesia in which illegal drugs were concealed inside the body of a fish.

"Hence, they removed all the organs of the fish and stuffed it with drugs. Extra caution needs to be exercised in dealing with this, and the cooperation will help us in maintaining security in Bali," he emphasized. 

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