589,760 Illegal Cigarettes from Surabaya Thwarted from Smuggling to Bima

The smuggling of 589,760 illegal cigarettes of various brands originating from Surabaya, East Java, has been thwarted. The cigarettes were intended to be smuggled to Sumbawa Island, Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB).

The prevention of the illegal cigarette smuggling was carried out by the Mataram Naval Base (Lanal) and Mataram Customs Authority following receipt of intelligence information.

“The Mataram Lanal Intelligence Team received information regarding the shipment of illegal cigarettes from Banyuwangi to Lombok by truck,” said Danlanal Mataram Colonel Asep Tri Prabowo on Wednesday (11 March 2026).

Surveillance and inspection was conducted on the suspected truck at Lembar Port, West Lombok. Upon inspection, officers discovered 589,760 illegal cigarettes lacking proper tax stamps.

“The plan was for the illegal cigarettes to be distributed to Sumbawa Island, with the final destination being Bima,” he stated.

The estimated retail value of the hundreds of thousands of illegal cigarettes reached approximately Rp875.7 million. “The potential state loss from the cigarette tax sector reached approximately Rp570 million,” he added.

In this operation, the driver and assistant driver serving as freight handlers were also apprehended.

“From the information we received, this driver and assistant were freight handlers. When they were stopped, they were fairly cooperative and claimed not to know the contents of the cargo,” he explained.

For further legal proceedings, all evidence items along with the driver and assistant have been transferred to the Customs Authority, which has jurisdiction over customs offences.

“For further handling, the Customs Authority has the authority. There will be a handover and further investigation plan,” said Asep.