175 Thousand Packs Of Illegal Cigarettes Up To 1 Unit Motorized Ship, Dumai Customs Destroys Illegal Goods Worth IDR 3.5 Billion

The head of BC Dumai, Bambang Sukoco, has led the destruction of illegal goods resulting from prosecution for the past two years. (ANTARA/doc)

DUMAI - The Intermediate Customs Office of Customs B Dumai, Riau Province, destroyed 175 thousand packs or 3.5 million illegal cigarettes of various brands without excise by burning them. Millions of cigarettes were the result of prosecution in Dumai waters during 2021-2022.

The Head of BC Dumai, Bambang Sukoco, explained that the destruction of a number of state property had gone through a process of determination with permanent legal force as a form of protecting the public against goods harmful to health and the environment.

"There are no suspects in the joint prosecution of illegal goods in these waters and we destroy them to avoid misuse and eliminate the use value of the goods," said Bambang in his press statement, quoted from Antara, Friday, July 22.

Apart from excise-free cigarettes, other illegal goods resulting from prosecution are also destroyed by cutting and burning. These include medicines, used clothes, used motorcycle tires, ropes, car seats, shoes, bags and one unit of transportation means in the form of the Rizky Baru Motorboat (KM) and one speedboat engine.

These illegal goods were prevented by the officers because they violated the provisions on the prohibition of restrictions on importation and the provisions of Law No. 39 of 2007 on Excise and Law No. 17 of 2006 on customs.

He said that the value of illegal goods with 123 times of prosecution that was destroyed was around Rp. 3.5 billion and as a result of these illegal activities, the state experienced a potential loss of around Rp. 2.4 billion if circulated freely among the public.

"This is also a manifestation of the sincerity of all Customs officers to create a fair and balanced business climate and protect the public from illegal goods," said Bambang.

The circulation of illegal cigarettes and MMEA, he continued, in addition to threatening the state in terms of excise revenue, also creates unfair business competition. In addition, the cheap price of illegal cigarettes and illegal MMEA will increase consumption of goods that should be controlled for circulation and limited consumption.

In addition, the circulation of used goods such as used clothes, cosmetics, food will endanger the public, both in terms of safety and health threats.

The details of the illegal goods were destroyed, namely, 175,601 packs of cigarettes of various brands or approximately 3.5 million sticks, various kinds of medicine packaging, 6 packs of used clothes, 2 bales of rope, 300 bags of shoes, 107 pcs of bags, two car seats, powdered milk. and 16 cartons of spices, then 850 units of used motorcycle tires and means of transportation in the form of the KM Rizky Baru Ship and speedboat engines were destroyed by cutting and burning.

This extermination is carried out to provide a deterrent effect for perpetrators of violations and is an effort to enforce the law to protect the State and industry from the entry and circulation of illegal goods.