Customs and excise officers at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport foiled an alleged attempt to smuggle 612 mobile phones worth around Rp 5 billion (US$347,868) from Singapore to Jakarta on June 27. The phones were of various brands, including Apple and Nokia.

The head of the Customs and Excise Office at Soekarno-Hatta airport, Erwin Situmorang, said three Indonesian citizens allegedly put the phones inside cabin luggage.

The suspects thought the cabin luggage did not have to undergo an X-ray screening, Erwin said. 

"They tried to put the phones inside the luggage so they could sell them later. Just imagine how much there would have been in losses for the country and for those who sell mobile phone by complying with regulations," Erwin said on Tuesday as quoted by kompas.com. 

Erwin added that the country could have lost around Rp 1.2 billion had the attempt succeeded. (cal)