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.
Govt blames foreigners for influx of illegal goods
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!
People shop for Idul Fitri at the Tanah Abang textile market in Jakarta on April 3, 2024. (AFP/Adek Berry)
T
rade Minister Zulkifli Hasan says a task force working to root out illegal imports has found that many foreign nationals are acting as distributors and have access to local warehouses for storing goods brought into the country.
“They [the task force] will record data on the circulation of imported goods and the mafias involved,” he said on Tuesday in Cikarang, West Java, as reported by Bisnis.
“The Trade Ministry is conducting covert research on products sold in malls [to find out] how they entered [Indonesia] and what countries they originate from. [...] Hopefully, we can complete [the operation] in a month.”
Zulkifli went on to say that he would submit the results of the operation to the President, police chief, attorney general and finance minister.
He said he suspected illegal goods trading businesses run by foreigners were “rampant” in Penjaringan, North Jakarta, and other areas and said foreigners were renting warehouses with no official documents to store imported goods and sell them illegally online.
“There are many [foreign nationals] who operate and [act] as large distributors in large malls [and] wholesale centers, such as Tanah Abang and Mangga Dua,” the minister alleged.
Read also: New import rules hoped to save ailing textile industry
