Indonesian Marine Police arrested two people for trying to smuggle several thousands of cell phones from Singapore to Batam on Friday.

"The cell phones entered Batam illegally," Chief of Indonesian Marine Police in Riau Islands Province, Adjunct Senior Commissioner Yassin Kosasih said.

Kosasih said the cell phones did not have any legal papers.

The police had detained two suspects when loading packs of these illegal phones into trucks shortly after arriving at the Jembatan IV Barelang port from Batam by a ship, he said.

The suspects told the police the seized Nokia cell phones was supposed to be shipped to Nagoya. "The phones may be brought to Lucky Plaza shopping mall," he said.

The suspects said they did not know the owner of the cell phones but they were only asked by somebody to bring them to Lucky Plaza, Kosasih said.

In the raid, the police also confiscated several boxes of cell phone accessories of different brands.

Kosasih said his men managed to foil the smuggling due to the local people`s tips.

"The success is the result of good cooperation between the police and the people. We thank them," he said.

Indonesia`s Batam Island, which directly borders with Singapore, has not only been used as a gateway to Indonesia by smugglers but also by drug traffickers.

Last August, the anti-narcotics division of Riau Islands Provincial Police arrested Syaiful Azhar Sipahutar alias Lung, 32, for smuggling 1.445 kilograms of marijuana in Batam Island.

"The suspect was arrested on August 27," Chief of the Riau Island Provincial Police`s anti-narcotics division Commissioner Himawan Bayu Aji said.

The suspect was caught red handed at Baloi Persero neighborhood while driving a car loaded with a kilogram of dried marijuana, he said.(Source : Antara)

The Corruption Court sentenced former Riau Islands governor Ismeth Abdullah on Monday to two years in prison, two years less than prosecutors asked, for graft committed when he was Batam Authority chief.

The court ordered Ismeth to pay a Rp 100 million (US$11,200) fine or serve an additional three months in prison. Prosecutors previously requested that Ismeth be sentenced to a four-year prison term and pay a Rp 200 million fine.

Ismeth’s abuse was estimated to have cost the state Rp 5.4 billion.

Tensions between Malaysia and Indonesia are heating up again following the arrest of three Indonesian maritime officers over an apparent border dispute.

The three officers were in Bintan waters off Riau Islands when they were arrested on Friday night by the Malaysian Marine Operations Force, according to Aji Sularso, the director general of supervision at the Indonesian Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.

Indonesian domestic carrier PT Kartika Airlines has agreed to order 30 Sukhoi Superjet 100 airplanes in a contract estimated to reach US$951 million.

The contract was signed at the Farnborough International Airshow in Farnborough, England, by the president of the Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company (SCAC), Vladimir Prishyazhnyuk, and Kartika CEO Kim Johannes Mulia.

With the agreement, Karika becomes the first company in Southeast Asia to purchase the new Super Jet 100 (SSJ-100) airplanes.

“The agreement outlines the basic terms for the delivery of 15 SSJ-100 aircrafts in the basic configuration and provides an option for 15 additional planes. The order is worth $951 million,” SCAC said in a statement.

Innovation PT Carrefour Indonesia, which together with local suppliers in all regions in Indonesia, including Batam and other areas in the Riau Islands, reap praise from the Minister of Agriculture Suswono. He considered, a partnership that built Carrefour had opened the way for the community of micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), agriculture sector to prosper.

Thus expressed Suswono after witnessed the signing of the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding, MoU) between the Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture Horticulture Ahmad Dimyati, with the Corporate Affairs Director Carrefour Indonesia PT Irawan Kadarman, at the opening of the National Week Flori and Flora (PF2N) 2010, Friday ( 07/15/2010) in Flora Flori Week held in Engku Putri, Batam Centre.

"This partnership makes farmers obtain market certainty and market chain is shorter, so that will give a larger profit margin. While traders (Carrefour) will obtain the certainty of supply, "he said. Kadarman Irawan said after the MoU, the partnership is not only limited market access, but also the development and empowerment of farmers through training, mentoring and promotional support. Training, mentoring, include aspects of hygiene, management of cash flow, bookkeeping, stock management, display and packaging. While market access include the provision of land at the corner of the popular outlets through the program and give priority in people's bazaars program. While support for the campaign include promotional catalogs, participation in the bazaars, exhibitions, seminars and special profiles on the leading mass media.

Entrepreneur souvenirs Batam Villa Banana Cake, Denni return Delyandri Creative Award SME Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin Kepri). Awards are handed over directly Governor of Riau Islands, HM Sani for the opening exhibition of K-SMEs Expo Indonesia 2010 at the Mega Mall, Batam Center, Thursday (15/07/2010).

The award was accepted into the 6th achievements earned Villa Banana Cake, which became a successful food production company. Especially by-the typical vacancy, beginning with a home-based business in 2007.