MANADO, North Sulawesi, June 7 (Bernama) -- National Police (Polri) Chief Gen Timur Pradopo has urged North Sulawesi province to be wary of cross-country crimes, Indonesia's Antara news agency reported.

"Cross-country crimes such as terrorism and drug smuggling must be anticipated," the National Police chief said at a meeting with North Sulawesi government officials here on Wednesday night.

Timur and National Defence Forces (TNI) Chief Admiral Agus Suhartono were present at the meeting with North Sulawesi Governor Sinyo Sarudajang, deputy governor Djouhari Kansil, district and deputy district heads, police and TNI officials, and religious figures of the province.

At the meeting, Timur stated everyone in the province should be on guard against cross-country crimes.

"What we have been doing so far to tackle cross-country crimes is well enough, but we have to step it up," he said, while praising the various Polri and TNI activities in North Sulawesi and the synergy among Polri, TNI, and the government.

Meanwhile, Agus also expressed appreciation for the cooperation between Polri and TNI in North Sulawesi.

"It is great to see how solid the synergy among Polri, TNI, the provincial government, and the people is," he said, adding that such cooperation would add value to the province.

Governor Sarundajang stated North Sulawesi had 15 districts or municipalities and was one of island provinces of Indonesia.

He added the province had three islands districts - Sangihe, Talaud, and Sitaro - with more than 120 islands.

The governor noted that of the total islands in the province, 40 percent were inhabited while the rest were uninhabited and vulnerable to various cross-country crimes such as terrorism, drug smuggling, and human trafficking.

But thanks to the joint efforts of Polri, TNI and the local people, Governor Sarudajang said, the security situation in the province was good.

-- BERNAMA