Investigating Evidence of Tin Sand Smuggling on Belitung Island

By Servio Maranda for Tempo.co in Pangkalpinang, Bangka Belitung Islands, October 8, 2024

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The smuggling of tin sand from Indonesia’s Belitung Island to Bangka Island appears to be on the rise, taking advantage of weak oversight and poor coordination by local authorities. Tin smelters on neighboring Bangka Island may be the main recipients as there are no operational smelters on Belitung Island.

An investigation by leading Indonesian news outlet Tempo.co unearthed evidence of thousands of tons of tin sand being shipped out of Belitung Island every week. The tin sand is hidden in the cargoes of cargo transport trucks that move between the island and nearby Bangka Island on roll-on-roll-off ferries.

Smuggling is conducted in two ways: through the small official port on Belitung Island at Tanjung Ru located in Pegantungan, Badau District, and two smaller unofficial ports in the towns of Tanjung Binga and Tanjung Kelayang located on the north west of the island.

Tanjung Rhu

At Tanjung Rhu Port Tempo observed the crossing services from Belitung Island to Bangka Island. The port is serviced by three ships: KMP Menumbing Raya servicing the route Tanjung Rhu to Sadai Bangka (only about 88 km), KMP Gorare on the Tanjung Rhu to Sadai Bangka route, and KMP Puteri Leanpuri on the route Tanjung Rhu to Tanjung Nyato, Selat Nasik District, on Belitung.

At Tanjung Rhu there was no signs of tight security as vehicles freely entered and exited the port area without any security or law enforcement present. Only dozens of cargo trucks were seen waiting in line to board the ships.

Officials from the authorities involved in managing Tanjung Rhu Port deflected responsibility when asked about the smuggling of tin sand at Tanjung Rhu.

“We don’t have the authority to inspect what’s being carried by the trucks crossing. We only manage the port facilities,” said Suhadak, the deputy head of operations at Tanjung Rhu Port.

Suhadak said the responsibility for inspecting goods lies with the state-owned passenger ferry operator, PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry ( Persero). But he changed his information when a PT ASDP Tanjung Rhu supervisor, Mr Sukisman, arrived to accompany him during the interview, and said that the inspection of goods is the responsibility of law enforcement officials.

“As for the cargo, we don’t know because we don’t have the authority. For each departure, we only check the documents. We cannot accuse or suspect vehicles of carrying illegal tin sand because people might get angry,” he said.

Ferry Ticket Prices

PT ASDP Tanjung Rhu supervisor Mr Sukisman also did not want to comment on the allegations of tin sand smuggling. He claimed he could not provide information from the company. “I’m not authorized to comment because the PT ASDP General Manager is currently in Bangka,” he said.

Meanwhile, one tin collector from Bangka Island at Tanjung Rhu Port confided that the buying and selling of tin sand happens on a Cash On Delivery (COD) basis. He admitted to directly purchasing tin sand from small collectors and then storing it in a warehouse.

“When I have enough I send it to Bangka Island and then sell it to a smelter. Right now I’m waiting to send goods to Bangka. There are 19 trucks in front of me in the line. My number in the line is 20,” he said.

The collector said that the shipment of tin sand to Bangka uses cargo trucks carrying other goods. Each truck, he said, can carry between 5 to 10 tons of tin sand. “When the ship departs, I just need to make sure my goods arrive in Bangka, at Sadai Port. Then they’re taken to Pangkalpinang and sold to a smelter,” he said.

Smuggling tin sand from the small unofficial ports in the Tanjung Binga and Tanjung Kelayang areas is also strongly suspected. However, the smuggling operation happens at night using fishing boats.

The quiet condition of the sites, with no security, allows for the shipping process to proceed freely. In fact, to reach the habor, which is not far from the the main road to the town of Sijuk, you have to use a small road that’s only two meters wide.

“We often hear about smuggling. During the day, activities in the area are normal because it’s actually a fishing port. For shipments happen at night would be quite possible,” said one fisherman from Tanjung Binga in a conversation with Tempo magazine.

At the small port of Tanjung Kelayang, local fishermen have also heard stories about smuggling. In fact, around the area of the small habor of Tanjung Kelayang there are tin sand warehouses not far from the habor and dozens of jerrycans thought to be used for transporting fuel.

“I have never seen it myself. I’ve only heard about it from friends who say there are people sending tin sand out to the open sea. In the open sea there will be a larger ship waiting to transfer the cargo,” said F, a fisherman from Tanjung Kelayang.

Civil Society Reports

The signs of tin sand smuggling from Belitung Island to Bangka Island has also been seen in an investigation conducted by the Bangka Belitung Resource Institute (BRINST) and journalists affiliated with the Independent Journalists Alliance (AJI) in Pangkalpinang.

BRINST Director Teddy Marbinanda said their investigation found that the trigger for the smuggling of tin sand from Belitung Island is the ongoing extensive (informal) mining in the area. On the other hand, he noted there are no operational tin smelters on Belitung Island.

“Most of the tin sand is sent to Bangka Island. The tin sand comes from small-scale mines that sell their produce to shaking table operators for separation, who then sell it on again to tin collectors,” Teddy said on Monday, October 7, 2024.

According to Teddy, the shaking table businesses are targeted by collectors because they have the expertise to separate the tin ore according to its Organic Carbon (OC) content, which is a method of measuring tin content. Illegal tin transactions on Belitung Island, he said, increased with the influx of tin collectors from Bangka Island over the period from June to September 2024.

“The interests of the tin collectors from Bangka are to absorb the tin production from Belitung to be stored in the tin smelters on Bangka. There was competition for tin sand between players in Belitung and those in Bangka, which caused the price of tin to soar from Rp 125,000 ($8) to Rp 170,000 ($11) per kilogram with an OC content of 72,” he said.

Teddy explained that the practice of tin sand smuggling from Belitung Island should be a concern for everyone. It causes the regional income derived from its share of tin revenue to not be enjoyed by Belitung as a producing region.

“If there are 10 tons in one truck that is smuggled, how much is the loss to the region? The average tin production in Belitung is around 1,000 tons per month, so smuggling has a serious impact on Belitung. The tin corruption trial in Jakarta has not affected Bangka Belitung. Illegal tin mining practices are still rampant,” he said.

Achmad Subhan Hafiz, Executive Director of the environmental group Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesian (WALHI) in Bangka Belitung province, warned that the smuggling of tin happening on Belitung is having an increasingly negative effect on the environment and the community.

“The management of tin mining is out of control. The smuggling adds to the burden after the corruption scandal worth more than Rp 300 trillion ($20b). In fact, the situation is worse than before. Tin mining practices continue in ecologically crucial areas,” he said.

Law enforcement agencies such as the Attorney General’s Office (Kejagung), Hafiz said, have to identify the political economic aspects of tin mining by auditing the mining businesses from the company level to the collectors.

Environmental Damage

“In-depth investigations are needed to understand the environmental issues in the context of the political context. Law enforcement should take firm action against all forms of unlawful behavior in the industry,” he said.

Hafiz added that reports from citizens about increasing scale of the environmental damage should be followed up immediately. When tin companies are closed, he said, there must be clear legal steps. “Law enforcement has to take action against the actors behind the damage, from operators to middle operators to the large business people involved. If we look at this, it only seems to replace the actors,” he said.

Police Action

Belitung Police Adjutant Chief Commissioner Deddy Dwitya Putra has not responded to Tempo magazine’s confirmation about security measures against the rampant smuggling activities in the area he is responsible for. To date attempts to confirm police action via phone and WhatsApp have not been answered.

This post is based on https://www.tempo.co/ekonomi/menelusuri-jejak-bisnis-penyelundupan-pasir-timah-di-pulau-belitung-1587.

In related news:

• https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-15/prabowo-signals-intention-to-go-after-illegal-mines-in-indonesia
• https://regional.kompas.com/read/2025/05/16/185952178/penyelundupan-20-ton-pasir-timah-ke-malaysia-via-bangka-digagalkan-nelayan
• https://storiesfromindonesia.com/2025/04/22/journal-article-geopolitics-of-the-seabed-offshore-tin-mining-in-indonesia-territory-politics-governance-journal/
• https://eiti.org/countries/indonesia
• https://regional.kompas.com/read/2025/02/14/225641778/kasus-penyelundupan-925-ton-timah-ilegal-di-bangka-barat-dilimpahkan-ke