Satpol PP Paste 'Ilegal Cigarette Strikes' Stickers, Sellers Act In Pekalongan

JAKARTA - Pekalongan City Government (Pemkot), Central Java, is committed to eradicating the circulation of illegal cigarettes as an effort to prevent losses in state revenues through excise.

"The illegal shop not only has an impact on state losses in terms of revenue, but also endangers the community because the raw materials are unclear and the nicotine content is not controlled," said Secretary of the Civil Service Police Unit (Satpol PP) of Pekalongan City, Amaryadi, in Pekalongan, Saturday, July 12, confiscated by Antara.

In addition to enforcing the law, his party also takes an educational and coaching approach to shop owners or stalls so that they do not sell illegal cigarettes anymore.

At the shop, the joint team will also put up a sticker that reads "Illegal Cigarettes Attacks" as a form of warning and socialization to the general public, to participate in efforts to eradicate cigarettes without excise stamps.

According to him, most traders actually understand the difference between legal cigarettes and cigarettes without being given excise stamps (illegal), but they are still found selling illegal cigarettes.

"Therefore, we invite the entire community to jointly supervise and report if they know of the circulation of illegal cigarettes in their respective environments," he said.

He also said that during the operation, his party involved officers from the Central Java Civil Service Police Unit, Kodim 0710/Pekalongan, Pekalongan City Police, District Attorney's Office, Economic Section, and Tegal Customs.

This operation is a form of the seriousness of the local municipal government together with all related elements to continue to fight the circulation of illegal cigarettes in the regions.

"We are not only waiting for complaints from the public, but also actively monitoring and following up on the information we received in the field," he said.

From the results of the operation, the joint team confiscated 7,740 cigarettes or the equivalent of 387 packs of cigarettes without excise stamps from various brands sold by traders.