Customs And Excise Confiscates Thousands Of Cigarettes And Illegal Alcohol Worth IDR 2 Billion In Bengkulu

Head of the West Sumatra DJBC Regional Office (Kanwil) Estty Purwadiani Hidayati. ANTARA/Anggi Mayasari

The Directorate General of Customs and Excise (DJBC) of West Sumatra confiscated thousands of illegal cigarettes and beverages containing ethyl alcohol (MMEA) with an estimated total value of IDR 2.08 billion.

The items confiscated by the Bengkulu Customs Supervision and Excise Service Office (KPPBC-TMC) consisted of 1,647,620 illegal cigarettes and 165.15 liters of MMEA.

"From January to July 30, 2023, Customs and Excise in Bengkulu has taken action against 194 cases of illegal cigarettes and alcohol," said Head of the West Sumatra DJBC Regional Office (Kanwil) Estty Purwadiani Hidayati as reported by ANTARA, Tuesday, August 29.

He said the prosecution was mostly carried out in Bengkulu City with a total of 182 cases and 1,599,020 illegal cigarettes, and in Central Bengkulu Regency four cases and 31,200 illegal cigarettes.

Then in South Bengkulu Regency four cases with illegal cigarettes were confiscated as many as 8,600 sticks, Mukomuko Regency one case with 7,600 sticks and North Bengkulu Regency three cases with illegal cigarettes confiscated, namely 1,200 sticks.

Estty explained that the cigarettes and MMEA found in the Bengkulu Province were not the result of the production of local residents but came from outside the region.

The entry route for these items is through South Sumatra Province, precisely from Lubuk Linggau City to Rejang Lebong Regency and from Pagar Alam City to South Bengkulu Regency.

Furthermore, through Lampung, to be precise, from Krui Regency to Kaur Regency and through West Sumatra Province, namely Pesisir Selatan Regency to Mukomuko Regency.

With the findings of these illegal cigarettes, he explained, his party continues to strengthen supervision of illegal cigarette trafficking in a number of Bengkulu areas.

Supervision of the circulation of illegal cigarettes in Bengkulu is carried out by cooperating with many parties, both law enforcement officers and the community, because Bengkulu is an area that is often found in the circulation of illegal cigarettes, especially border areas and rural areas.