Singapore: Three Indian nationals are among the crew who have been detained by Indonesian authorities on a Singapore-flagged ship for carrying drugs to Brisbane, according to a media report.
Acting on a tip-off, the Indonesian authorities intercepted the cargo vessel, called Legend Aquarius, in the Pongkar waters of the Karimun district. It was manned by 10 Indonesian crew members, including the captain.
Three Singapore residents of Indian nationalities were also on board. They are allegedly the owners of the drugs and had commissioned the trip, police commissioner-general Marthinus Hukom, head of the Indonesian National Narcotic Agency (BNN), told reporters.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said that, it was alerted to the detention of a Singapore-flagged vessel, Legend Aquarius, by the Indonesian authorities, according to the Singapore Daily. “MPA is in contact with the vessel owner to ascertain the facts and has advised the company to cooperate with the Indonesian authorities on the investigations,” the broadsheet quoted MPA as saying.
At the press conference, Inspector-General Wayan Sugiri said the vessel left 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 loaded the illicit drugs onto the vessel and placed them in the engine room.
