Illegal Cigarette Warehouse Raid Officers In Matraman, Hundreds Of Thousands Of Cigarettes Confiscated, TikTokers Arrested

Disclosure of cases of illegal cigarettes/ Photo: IST

JAKARTA - A TikToker with the initials HD (44) was arrested by Jakarta Customs officers for marketing illegal cigarettes online. The perpetrator has also been named a suspect in the case of illegal cigarette trafficking.

"HD, who is also a content creator on one of the social media platforms with millions of followers, has been named a suspect," said Head of the Jakarta Customs Office, Rusman Hadi, to reporters, Thursday, December 19.

TikTokers with millions of followers owns an excise cigarette warehouse in the South Utan Kayu area, Matraman, East Jakarta.

"The team found an excise object storage warehouse in the form of excise cigarettes that are close to the school area. This cigarette product consists of various brands that vary," he said.

During the raid, his party confiscated 425,480 cigarettes without excise stamps with a value of Rp741,162,400.00.

"The potential loss to the state is IDR 408,268,080.00," he said.

Rusman explained that the illegal cigarettes were marketed by HD through online stores in an marketplace.

"The mode is disguised with various other items. In addition, these items are also distributed to shops in various areas in Jakarta," he said.