TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Batam customs officials apprehend vessel, 14 vehicles carrying contraband
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
O
n April 25, Batam Customs and Excise officials intercepted a high speed craft (HSC) allegedly carrying illegal tobacco products in the waters off Petong island.
“The arrest occurred during a routine patrol of the Punggur area. Locals, who spotted [the suspects] around Jembatan Enam on Galang Island, suspected they were going to transport illegal items to Guntung island,” said Udani, the head of the service division of the Batam Customs and Excise Office.
A quick inspection of the vessel revealed 768,000 machine-made kretek cigarettes without excise stamps. The boat and cargo were taken to the Batam Customs and Excise warehouse at Tanjung Uncang along with the captain, a man identified by the initials MU. The goods were estimated to be worth Rp 875,520,000 (USD 60,140) representing a total potential state loss of Rp 541,348,000 (USD 37,186.07).
“The smugglers can be charged under Article 54 of the Excise Law for offering, delivering, selling or providing for sale excisable goods that are not packaged for retail sale or not affixed with other attributes as a sign of payment of excise referred to in Paragraph 1 of Article 29 or Article 56 of the Excise Law, which forbids hoarding, storing, possessing, selling, exchanging, obtaining or giving excisable goods obtained through illegal means,” said Undani.
“Perpetrators can be punished with imprisonment for a minimum of one year and a maximum of five years, or be fined at least twice the value of the excise duty and a maximum of ten times the value of the excise that should be paid," he continued.
A few days later, on April 29, Batam Customs and Excise officials and the Water and Air Directorate (Ditpolairud) of the Riau Islands Police carried out joint raids on vehicles leaving Batam. They intercepted fourteen cars that were allegedly transporting illegal goods, including unregistered cigarettes, as the drivers attempting to board a ferry at Telaga Punggur Port in Batam city.
“There had been local reports that smugglers were planning to make attempts to leave Batam while avoiding taxation. The suspects’ plan was to take [the contraband] to Tanjungpinang, taking advantage of the surge in homecoming travel. However, the water and air police managed to find more than a dozen cars carrying illegal goods. The evidence has been handed over to the Batam Customs Office for further inspection,” said Undani.
The seized goods included 880 cartons of cigarettes, alcoholic beverages, 279 bags of various goods and eleven used mattresses.
“We are grateful for the community’s support and involvement in pursuing this case. We also appreciate the outstanding synergy between the Batam Customs Office and the Riau Islands Ditpolairud in the midst of the hectic Idul Fitri homecoming traffic,” Undani concluded.
