T

he Jakarta Police said Thursday that they had uncovered a counterfeit motorcycle parts business with revenue of Rp 300 million (US$22,168) per month in Cengkareng, West Jakarta.

The Jakarta Police'€™s industry and trade division director Sr. Adj. Comr. Agung Marlianto said the business, which had operated for about seven years, repacked non-branded low-quality spare parts with well-known brands before distributing them to auto-part shops around the capital at lower prices than the originals.

'€œConsumers are, of course, the ones who suffer most from this kind of business foul play,'€ Agung said, adding that the business also caused more than Rp 10 billion in state losses by not paying taxes.

'€œThey had high demand because of their lower prices. Most people can actually distinguish fake spare parts from original ones, but they became accustomed to the low prices.'€

Agung said the police raided the business and named the owner, identified as BI, a suspect on Monday after previously receiving a tip-off from nearby residents, adding that the police confiscated thousands of motorcycle parts and a number of engines.

The suspect will be charged under the Industry Law with distributing products that do not meet standards and on operating a business without a permit, which carry a maximum penalty of five years behind bars and a maximum Rp 3 billion in fines.

The alleged perpetrator received the spare parts from both domestic and overseas factories, Agung said.

The Indonesian Anti-Counterfeiting Society (MIAP) recorded that auto parts were among the most commonly counterfeited products. According to MIAP, the state lost Rp 37 trillion from counterfeiting from 2004 to 2010.

'€œThis is a serious offense. The suspect did not make his own brand but sold products using the names of already famous brands,'€ Agung said.

Meanwhile, Edward Napitupulu, head of the industry division at the Jakarta Industry and Energy Agency, said such illegal businesses normally operated on a small scale in the capital, targeting only small automotive workshops that sold auto parts on roadsides.

'€œSo, it'€™s not extensive and the impact for the industry in the capital is not significant,'€ he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

He explained that people became involved in such businesses because they found it hard to get permission to make their own branded products, in addition to strict competition for auto parts in the market.

'€œWe have always announced procedures on getting business permission and encouraged small businesses to register their brands to make them legal. That'€™s what we do to curb such illegal businesses,'€ he said.