Successfully Intercepting HSC Ship On Petong Island, Riau Customs Officers Find 768,000 Illegal Cigarettes

BATAM - Batam Customs, Riau Islands, arrested one high speed carrier (HSC) ship containing 768,000 illegal cigarettes in the waters of Petong Island.

Batam Customs Information Service Section Head Undani said that the arrest of the HSC ship began with a routine patrol carried out by Batam Customs, Monday, January 25.

"Batam Customs patrol boats carry out routine patrol duties in the Punggur and surrounding waters sector," Undani said in Batam as quoted by Antara, Wednesday, April 27 night.

Armed with information from the public, he said, at around 21.00 WIB there was an HSC ship carrying out activities in the waters of Bridge 6 of Galang Island, Batam with the aim of Guntung Island. It is suspected that the HSC ship was carrying goods that were not equipped with customs and excise documents.

Then, the Batam Customs Patrol Vessel immediately departed from the waters of Punggur to the location where the ship would bypass the route. Officers finally managed to intercept the fast boat last Tuesday at around 00.30 WIB.

"From the results of a brief inspection, it was found that the load of Excisable Goods for Tobacco Products (BKC HT) was 60 cartons with a total of 768,000 sticks of machine-made kretek (SKM) tobacco products without excise tape attached," explained Undani.

Undani said that after the arrest, the evidence in the form of an unnamed HSC ship and 60 cartons with a total of 768,000 SKM tobacco products that were not attached with excise stamps were brought to the Batam Customs warehouse in Tanjung Uncang for further inspection.

Along with the evidence, a man with the initials MU who acted as the captain was also secured.

The perpetrator is alleged to have violated Article 54 of the Excise Law, namely offering, delivering, selling, or providing for sale excisable goods that are not packaged for retail sale or are not attached with excise stamps or are not affixed with other signs of payment of excise.

"The estimated value of the confiscated goods is Rp. 875 million with a total potential loss of Rp. 541 million to the state. The evidence will then be investigated to explore the case," said Undani.