TARAKAN, EAST KALIMANTAN: Police on the island of Tarakan have been left foundering by a fishy crime wave: a spate of robberies targeting shrimp harvests, according to The Jakarta Globe Report.
Adj. Sr. Comr. Desman Sujaya Tarigan, the Tarakan Police chief, said on Wednesday that there had been a surge in reports of shrimp farmers being held up while transporting their harvests from their farms dotted along the coast of the island.
“This is happening very frequently now, and coincides with the height of the shrimp-harvesting season,” he said, but did not give any figures. “We’re increasing our patrols and offering to provide security escorts for the farmers as they transport their shrimp from the shrimp farms.”
He also acknowledged reports that many of the farmers were arming themselves with knives and air rifles in light of the robberies, but said the police would not discourage them from taking the necessary steps to protect their property.
“We have no problem with them possessing weapons, just as long as it’s only for self-defense. We’ve had no reports of these weapons being misused,” Desman said.
The latest reported robbery occurred on Monday when Safaruddin, a shrimp farmer transporting 400 kilograms of the crustaceans by boat to Bulungan district on the East Kalimantan mainland, was hijacked by three masked men in a speedboat.
He said they were armed with assault rifles and took his entire shrimp harvest, valued at around Rp 100 million ($10,500).
“I’m not the only one who has experienced this kind of thing,” he told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday.
“Several of my friends have also had their shrimp stolen from them shortly after harvesting them,” he said. “This always happens around this time of the year.”
He said that he and several other shrimp farmers had long since armed themselves with air rifles, but were powerless against the robbers with their high-powered firearms and larger numbers.
“There have even been some cases of farmers being killed after putting up a fight,” he said.