REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Indonesian Navy has finally nabbed MV Sunrise Glory and four Taiwanese crew members for smuggling one ton of crystal methamphetamine drugs into Indonesia. The vessel in disguise of a fishing boat, was arrested by Indonesia's war ship Sigurot 864 in the Philip Channel, near islands off Batam, in the water border between Indonesia and Singapore, on Wednesday at around 2 p.m. local time, according to the 115 Task Force in charge of eradication of illegal fishing, in a press statement, here, Sunday.

The methamphetamine was hidden in 41 rice sacks in the lower deck of the boat. The Indonesian Navy had first spotted the boat which was carrying a Singaporean flag, during a routine patrol at the water border between Indonesia and Singapore. The Navy later decided to stop the vessel out of suspicion.

Deputy Navy Chief Vice Admiral Achmad Taufiqoerrochman said on Saturday that the navy was acting on a tip-off from Indonesia's National Narcotics Agency (BNN), which has been tracking the suspects since December last year.

The Sunrise Glory serving Malaysia-Taiwan route, is believed to have approached Indonesian waters to smuggle illegal drugs in Indonesia, including through transshipment in Indonesian water borders, for several times.

Head of BNN Budi Waseso in a press conference in Batam, Riau Islands Province, on Sunday said that the arrest of MV Sunrise Glory was partly thanks to a tip off from several countries, including China and Australia.

Budi Waseso was in Batam together with Chief of the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto, to get first hand information about the seizure of MV Sunrise Glory.

A Taiwanese flag was also discovered on-board MV Sunrise Glory, and the four Taiwanese are now being held in Riau Island Province, and investigated for operating the boat under various false flags for drug smuggling. 

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