Kudus Customs And Excise Failed To Send 578 Thousand Illegal Cigarettes

Illegal cigarettes resulting from the disclosure of the Customs Supervision and Service Office (KPPBC) Type Madya Kudus, Central Java. (ANTARA/Akhmad Nazaruddin Lathif)

KUDUS - The Customs and Excise Supervision and Service Office (KPPBC) Type Madya Kudus, Central Java, together with a joint team from Semarang Customs and Excise, and the Central Java-DIY DJBC Regional Office thwarted the shipment of illegal cigarettes with 578,000 sticks of evidence.

"Evidence of illegal cigarettes as many as 578,000 machine kretek cigarettes (SKM) has been successfully secured by a joint team at the Muktiharjo toll gate, Semarang," said Head of the KPPBC Information Extension and Service Section of the Kudus Intermediate Type of Excise, Sandy Hendratmo, Sopan, quoted by ANTARA, Monday, May 8.

Hundreds of thousands of cigarettes without excise tape attached, he said, were sent using a pickup truck on Friday (5/5) night.

The disclosure, he added, was due to public information that that that night there would be illegal cigarette shipments outside the area from the Jepara area.

To confirm this information, the Kudus KPPBC team conducted a search along Jalan Jepara-Demak.

"Finally, at around 21.00 WIB, the team managed to find a vehicle with the characteristics informed that it was driving on Jepara-Demak street so that a chase was carried out so that it could be checked later," he said.

From the results of the inspection of the vehicle, it was found that 578,000 cigarettes or 28,900 packs of SKM cigarettes were found without being attached to excise stamps with various brands. The estimated total value of illegal cigarette goods is IDR 725.4 million with a potential state revenue of IDR 497.16 million.

All evidence of illegal cigarettes with drivers and assistants, as well as vehicles used to transport illegal cigarettes, were taken to the Kudus Customs and Excise office for further investigation.