Customs Foils Distribution of 8.9 Million Illicit Cigarettes
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Jakarta Customs, alongside the Jakarta Customs Regional Office and the Banten Customs Regional Office, has successfully thwarted the circulation of 8,944,800 sticks of illegal cigarettes lacking excise stamps.
Through this operation, Customs managed to save the state from potential losses amounting to Rp8.66 billion. This includes lost excise revenue of Rp6.67 billion, cigarette tax of approximately Rp667.28 million, and Tobacco VAT (PPN HT) of around Rp1.2 billion.
“The potential state loss consists of first, excise revenue of Rp6.67 billion, cigarette tax of approximately Rp667.28 million, and Tobacco VAT of about Rp1.2 billion. The total overall is Rp8.66 billion,” stated Director General of Customs and Excise, Djaka Budi Utama, during a press conference in Jakarta on Tuesday.
The enforcement action began following community reports regarding the suspected shipment of illegal tobacco products/cigarettes using a truck passing through the Jakarta Customs surveillance area.
After in-depth analysis, the Jakarta Customs team, together with the Highway Patrol (PJR) of the Metro Jaya Regional Police, conducted an enforcement operation on Saturday (06/06) at 15:15 WIB on the Jakarta Outer Ring Road KM 35.8.
Upon inspection, officers discovered 8,000,800 sticks of illegal ‘SS’ brand cigarettes without excise stamps, which were subsequently seized and taken to the Jakarta Customs Office for further examination. The truck driver, identified as PY, and the shipment supervisor, YK, were also detained.
According to information obtained from PY, the illegal cigarettes were sent under the orders of HH, a controller based in Pamekasan, destined for a warehouse in Jalan Kampung Kemeranggen, Taman Baru, Taktakan District, Serang City, Banten.
On Sunday (07/06), a joint team from Customs and the TNI Military Police (Puspom) conducted further investigations and discovered an additional 944,041 sticks of illegal ‘SS’ brand cigarettes and 41 ‘SS’ brand cigarettes without excise stamps stored in the warehouse. It was found that the cigarettes in the warehouse belonged to AS.
In total, the seized goods reached 8,944,800 sticks of illegal cigarettes with an estimated value of Rp13.28 billion, saving the state from potential losses of Rp8.66 billion. This figure comprises potential excise revenue of Rp6.67 billion, cigarette tax of Rp667.28 million, and Tobacco VAT (PPN HT) of Rp1.32 billion.
Djaka emphasised that eradicating illegal cigarettes is part of the effort to protect the public, maintain a healthy business climate, and secure state revenue.
“This enforcement against the circulation of illegal cigarettes is a form of protection for the community from products that do not meet regulations, protection for businesses that comply with the rules, and an effort to safeguard state revenue used to fund development and public services,” he said.
The success of this operation also contributes to maintaining the sustainability of the legal tobacco industry and protects approximately 3,578 hand-rolled cigarette workers from potential job losses.
According to Djaka, the circulation of illegal cigarettes creates unfair business competition because legal businesses have fulfilled their excise payment obligations and other statutory requirements. Therefore, Customs will continue to strengthen supervision and enforcement through synergy with law enforcement agencies and community support.
The case has been escalated to the investigation stage based on the Order to Begin Investigation (PDP) dated 8 June 2026.
During the investigation process, Customs is working with the Criminal Investigation Directorate of the Metro Jaya Regional Police to ensure the investigation proceeds according to applicable regulations. Currently, PY has been named a suspect, while further investigations and examinations are ongoing for several other parties suspected of being linked to the illegal cigarette distribution network.