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Shoddy work by judiciary lets smugglers off lightly: Officials
The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 07/04/2009 1:05 PM | City
Efforts by the customs office to halt widespread smuggling have been set back by the shoddy follow-up work of the judiciary, an official said Thursday.
"Our hard work has been hampered by corrupt law enforcers," Customs and Excise Director General Anwar Suprijadi said in Jakarta.
He added prosecutors were far from stellar in prosecuting alleged smugglers arrested by customs officials, with judges consequently ruling in favor of the defendants.
In many cases, Anwar went on, judges decided to return the confiscated goods to the defendants, rather than allow the authorities to auction them off.
This has made it difficult to catch smuggling masterminds, he added.
Earlier on Thursday, the customs office announced it had foiled attempts to smuggle garments from China into Indonesia, and electronic products from Indonesia to Africa.
PT SGI, located in the Bekasi Bonded Industrial Zone, and Sukabumi-based PT MT, are believed to have doctored documents that listed quantity and type of exported and imported products, said Rahmat Subagio, head of the customs office in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta.
Thursday's hauls were estimated at Rp 786 million (US$77,300), with potential losses for the state of Rp 396 million from the imported products and Rp 390 million from the exported products.
In its documents, MT reported it was importing items such as zippers, buttons and cloth, but which turned out to be garments.
An investigation by customs officials into the company's business led to the uncovering of the smuggling attempt. The imported products cost more than Rp 1.4 billion.
To cover the potential losses, customs office spokesman Evy Suhartantyo said the seized goods from SGI and MI would be auctioned off.
Two suspects from SGI and one from MT were arrested at the end of June and are currently being held at the customs office headquarters in East Jakarta. (nia)
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