Customs office seizes booze, fake excise labels

Aditya Suharmoko , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Fri, 02/22/2008 5:00 AM | City

The Directorate General of Customs and Excise said Thursday it had confiscated hundreds of illegal liquor products and thousands of counterfeit excise tax labels, valued at Rp 577.2 million (US$63,076).

"The directorate general confiscated 778 bottles of Cointreau, a premium liquor made from orange peel, ... and 27,496 counterfeit excise tax labels during a raid last week," said a press release.

The liquor was worth Rp 27.23 million, while the counterfeit excise tax labels had a value of Rp 549.92 million.

The raid was conducted last Saturday evening after the office's investigation division was informed of plans for an illegal liquor sale in a warehouse on Jl. Daan Mogot, West Jakarta.

Officers apprehended three people during the raid, a driver and his assistant, who transported the liquor, as well as the recipient of the liquor. However, only the recipient, RLS, was arrested.

RLS faces a maximum sentence of eight years imprisonment and a fine of 20 times that of the total value of the excise tax labels.

Between May and December last year, the office raided 18 liquor stores alleged to be selling illegal alcohol.

According to the release, 10 cases were handed over to prosecutors' offices and five remain under investigation while in the remainder of cases, the perpetrators were sent to prison or fined.

The office said it secured Rp 24.53 trillion in potential state losses in those cases.

In Greater Jakarta, many liquor stores illegally sell alcoholic drinks far below official prices.