JAKARTA - Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa emphasized that the integrity of employees of the Directorate General of Customs and Excise (DJBC) has improved, so that bribery practices are now more difficult to carry out.
He added that this condition is reflected in the increasing intensity of raids and enforcement on the ground.
"Customs is now more active in raids and inspections. They are almost difficult to bribe anymore, so the arrests are getting bigger and bigger," he said at the APBN KiTA press conference, Thursday, December 18.
He gave an example that on December 11, 2025, the Customs and Excise Service managed to thwart the circulation of around 11 million illegal cigarettes and in the operation, officers arrested three foreign nationals from China at the international departure boarding lounge of Soekarno-Hatta Airport when they were about to leave Indonesia.
"Currently, the three suspects have been detained at the Salemba Detention Center, the DJBC Headquarters Branch, and have been coordinated with their embassies in Indonesia," he said.
Purbaya revealed that the evidence seized was estimated to be worth around IDR 23 billion, in the form of approximately 11 million illegal Marlboro-branded cigarettes using fake tax tape.
He added that from the action, the potential loss of the state that was successfully prevented was estimated at Rp. 12.5 billion.
Purbaya explained that the results of the investigation showed that the illegal cigarettes originated from Dili, East Timor and were smuggled into Indonesia through unofficial channels gradually, then stored in the Atambua area before being distributed to other areas.
"This action is the result of intelligence work and follow-up on public information regarding the alleged circulation of illegal cigarettes in border areas. So in the future, things like this will be further improved and I am confident that the results will be even greater," he explained.
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