O

fficers of the Bandung Customs and Excise Office’s service and monitoring division apprehended two individuals with the initials F and HK, who were believed to have counterfeited duty-paid labels worth Rp 3.9 billion (US$410,000).

Office head Benediktus Jarot Jatnika said the counterfeit labels were for imported alcoholic beverages.

“Based on surveillance, the location of the transaction was an inn near the Leuwi Panjang bus terminal in Bandung. Our officers were suspicious of F who came from Kudus [Central Java]. On the same day another person [HK] entered F’s room,” said Jarot.

After examining the room, HK brought the counterfeit labels in two packages, each filled with 500 sheets consisting of 40 fake labels. “The labels were intended for liquor imported in 2011,” said Jarot.

The office’s enforcement section head Sonny Wibisono said the fake label sellers offered 40,000 labels worth Rp 30 million to imported liquor sellers.

Sonny said the liquor sellers usually paid Rp 130,000 per liter of liquor to the Customs and Excise Office.

The suspects will be charged with violating Law No. 39/2007 on tax and Article 51 of the Criminal Code for being involved in the crime. They risk serving eight years in prison.