ICW says lawmaker protected Blackberry smugglers

Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) has reported a lawmaker to the House of Representatives’ Honorary Council for allegedly coercing customs officers into releasing two containers of illegal imports of Blackberry smartphones and liquor.

“The containers are owned by PT AUK,” ICW representative Apung Widadi said Thursday, as reported by tempointeraktif.com.

Apung said the problems began when several lawmakers from House Commission III overseeing legal affairs inspected the customs office at Soekarno-Hatta airport. The visit was considered controversial and unethical as the activity of customs officers does not fall under the authority of Commission III.

The inspection later moved to the customs office in Tanjung Priok Port. “The inspection was allegedly based on the request by AS,” Apung said referring to the lawmaker suspect.

During the inspection, AS queried customs officers on the status of two containers belonging to PT AUK and demanded their release, Apung said.

“We strongly suspect AS was most responsible for the breach of ethics. It will depend on a discussion with the honorary council whether the number of suspects will increase or not,” another ICW member, Abdullah Dahlan, said.