Car smuggling by sea from Singapore

Reported here:

"Every car smuggler taking cars coming into Batam from Singapore must wait for the high tide because it allows the boats to dock at the beach, something that people don't expect," Sumandi said. Each large vessel carried seven to 12 cars, he said.

It is an open secret that the local police, the Navy, the Army and the customs office are behind the smuggling of the used cars from Singapore into Batam.

These smuggling operations have grown in size since the beginning of the reform era, with importers now competing to bring in cars illegally.

The Riau Islands are part of Indonesia. Batam is across the Singapore Strait from Singapore.