Jakarta. The Bangka Belitung police recently freed Singapore-bound 117,600 lobster seeds worth Rp 35 billion or approximately $2 million into the waters of the Semujur island.

The police had previously confiscated them during a raid in Bangka’s Belinyu. The perpetrators previously tried to smuggle the lobster seeds from Java island to Singapore. Before reaching Singapore, the smugglers had to transit via Belinyu. The police have arrested 10 people for this smuggling attempt. 

“We want to return [these lobster seeds] to their habitat,” police commissioner Himawan said on Friday.

The archipelagic Indonesia has witnessed a number of cases of lobster seed smuggling. 

Earlier this month, the Palembang navy officers raided a smuggling attempt with the lobster seeds also about to be sent to the close neighbor Singapore. The confiscated lobster seeds were worth at least Rp 15 billion. 

In a separate raid in Jambi last week, the local police also caught two smuggling attempts of lobster seeds totaling approximately Rp 25 billion. Each lobster seed was about to be sold within a price range of Rp 200,000 and Rp 250,000.