Bareskrim Sita Thousands of Illegal Cellphones from Five Warehouses in Jakarta

Bareskrim Sita Thousands of Illegal Cellphones from Five Warehouses in Jakarta/ Photo: IST

JAKARTA - The Criminal Investigation Unit of the National Police has seized thousands of units of illegally imported mobile phones from five warehouses in Jakarta which are suspected to be the location of storage and distribution of smuggled goods.

The raid was carried out by the National Police Headquarters' Narcotics Enforcement Task Force (Gakkum) on Wednesday, April 15, 2026. The operation targeted three warehouses in the Penjaringan area, North Jakarta, as well as two other warehouses in Cengkareng, West Jakarta.

Director of Economic and Special Criminal Affairs of the Criminal Investigation Unit of the National Police, Ade Safri Simanjuntak, said the evidence seized was thousands of illegal cellphones that were allegedly to be distributed to various regions in Indonesia.

"The Task Force for Enforcement of Illegal Trafficking by the Criminal Investigation Unit of the National Police has seized thousands of illegal cellphones from five warehouses," Ade told reporters, Thursday, April 16, 2026.

According to Ade, the warehouses are suspected of being distribution points for imported electronic goods that enter without going through official customs procedures.

The Criminal Investigation Unit assessed that smuggling practices like this have the potential to harm the country and disrupt healthy business competition in the country.

Ade emphasized that the action was a follow-up to President Prabowo Subianto's order to close smuggling loopholes, especially in the customs sector.

"The gap in the leakage of the customs sector must be closed," he said.

Currently, investigators are still tracing the entry path of goods, the parties involved, to the illegal mobile phone distribution network. The police also opened the possibility of new suspects in the development of this case.

"We are still developing this matter to trace the network and distribution of illegal goods," he concluded.