Counterfeit Liquor Factory in South Sumatra: 4 Suspects, Tens of Thousands of Bottles Seized
South Sumatra Police (Polda Sumsel) raided an illicit alcoholic beverage factory in Talang Kelapa, Banyuasin, on Tuesday (14/4).
Director of Special Criminal Investigation at Polda Sumsel, Senior Commissioner Doni Satrya Sembiring, stated that a total of four suspects were successfully apprehended by investigators. The four perpetrators are AH (33), D (36), MR (34), and MW (34), residents from Bogor, West Java.
He explained that the case disclosure began with a report from the public regarding the existence of the counterfeit liquor factory. Less than an hour later, he said, investigators moved to the location and discovered ongoing production activities of the counterfeit alcohol.
“From the site, officers seized a total of 20,088 bottles of counterfeit alcohol mimicking commercial brands, consisting of 13,728 bottles of Mansion House Vodka, 5,760 bottles of Mansion House Whisky, and 600 bottles of Kawa-Kawa,” he said in a written statement on Thursday (16/4).
Doni said the tens of thousands of bottles of counterfeit alcohol were estimated to be worth Rp620 million. In carrying out their actions, he noted that the perpetrators produced the alcoholic beverages using unfit-for-consumption materials such as raw water, industrial alcohol, sugar, colouring, and flavouring.
The counterfeit products were then packaged using bottles, labels, and caps resembling genuine products, with the aid of pressing machines and printing equipment.
In addition to the tens of thousands of bottles of alcohol, investigators also seized production equipment such as large-capacity water drums, bottle pressing machines, alcohol jerry cans, colouring materials, and other packaging tools.
“More than 20,000 bottles of counterfeit alcohol were successfully secured by us before they could circulate widely. This indicates an organised network, which we will further investigate,” he explained.
On the same occasion, Deputy Head of Indagsi at the Directorate of Special Criminal Investigation of Polda Sumsel, AKBP Khoiril Akbar, emphasised that this case poses a serious threat to public safety.
This disclosure, he said, is also a concrete manifestation of the Precise Polri in supporting the President’s priority programmes towards Golden Indonesia.
“We are fully committed to safeguarding the continuity of the growth of the younger generation from the dangers of deadly products like this. We will complete the investigation up to the supplier and distribution networks,” he asserted.
For their actions, the suspects are charged with multiple articles, including the Consumer Protection Law, Trade Law, and provisions in the Criminal Code, with threats of imprisonment up to five years and fines in the billions of rupiah.