Government Says Smuggling Is Increasing In The Pandemic Period, Customs: The Most Cigarettes

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The government through the Ministry of Finance said that the number of smuggling of goods into the country is increasingly rampant in the current pandemic situation. This was stated by the Director General of Customs and Excise Askolani in a virtual press conference today.

According to him, the entry of illegal goods has become more frequent in the past three years. In fact, the most significant increase took place since last year.

"The pandemic has made the intensity even higher," he said on Thursday, August 26.

According to Askolani's records, in 2018 there were 21,000 cases of smuggling that were successfully thwarted by Customs and Excise. Meanwhile, for the 2019 period, illegal goods handled by the state amounted to 21,900 cases.

As for this year, until the end of July, smuggling cases handled by Customs and Excise were no less than 14,038 cases.

"The figures at the end of July reflect almost 50 percent of the 2020 numbers," he said.

Meanwhile, the most frequently smuggled type of goods is cigarettes with a percentage reaching 41 percent. This is followed by 7 percent of illegal liquor or alcohol, 7 percent of narcotics and illegal drugs, and 6 percent of motor vehicles or automotive parts.

"The others are textile products and medicines that are not officially licensed," said Askolani.

Minister of Finance (Menkeu) Sri Mulyani asked all staff, especially the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, to keep the circulation of illegal cigarettes at no more than 3 percent of the total national cigarette production.

He explained that the circulation of illegal cigarettes in 2020 was 4.9 percent. Meanwhile, the action carried out by Customs and Excise succeeded in securing 448 million illegal cigarettes throughout last year with an estimated value of Rp. 370 billion.