Beyond Seizing Illegal Imports, Purbaya Seeks Ways to Criminally Charge Ship Owners

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has stated that in order to broaden legal enforcement in cases of illegal imports, including used clothing, his ministry will also pursue the ship owners involved in such activities. He noted that so far, similar cases have only allowed the government to seize smuggled goods without being able to take action against the perpetrators, who ultimately escape freely. Consequently, he believes law enforcement in such cases has failed to create a deterrent effect.

“We are currently seeking legal avenues to detain ships or punish the ships, or the ship owners involved in activities like this,” Purbaya said at Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta on Tuesday, 23 June 2026.

Purbaya acknowledged that similar handling has already been applied in enforcement actions against illegal cigarette cases, where legal sanctions are also imposed on car owners and drivers transporting illegal cigarettes. “On land, if there is a producer, seller, or perpetrator of illegal cigarettes, usually only the cigarettes are detained. But the car is released, the driver is released,” Purbaya said. “But now I detain the car and the driver as well, to create a deterrent effect. So here, it will be the same; I will work on it like that,” he stated.

Therefore, Purbaya confirmed that his ministry will continue to investigate and pursue the parties involved in the illegal used clothing import case for subsequent legal action. “The importers will be examined further together with the police. The Metro Jaya Regional Police will follow up on the investigation and criminal proceedings,” Purbaya said. “So going forward, the parties committing these acts cannot simply get away, and the penalties will be increasingly severe in the future,” he added.

It is known that Purbaya, together with the Directorate General of Customs and Excise of the Ministry of Finance, successfully seized 43 containers filled with illegally imported used clothing at Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta. Similar enforcement actions were also carried out at two warehouse locations in West Kalimantan, which are suspected of being storage sites for the illegally imported used clothing.