Customs office to use X-ray detectors at seaports

JAKARTA (JP): The Directorate General of Customs and Excise plans to install X-ray detectors for shipping containers next year when the new customs law comes fully into effect.

Director General of Customs and Excise Soehardjo Soebardi said yesterday that the installation of the detectors is to expedite the clearance of goods from customs areas and also to prevent and deter possible smuggling of illegal goods.

"The smuggling trend seems to be on the increase, and therefore we have to be more alert," Soehardjo told journalists after opening a safety driving course for customs officials.

Soehardjo noted that the recent drugs seizures by Indonesian customs officials, were carried out at airports.

"We are still investigating the possibility of drug trafficking via sea cargoes," Soehardjo said.

Customs and excise officials at Soekarno-Hatta airport in Jakarta have seized a total of 126,221 ecstasy pills from nine smugglers in the past five months.

Soehardjo said earlier that people will continue to smuggle ecstasy here as long as there is a profit to be made.

Soehardjo said the X-ray detectors for containers will be installed at the Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta and the Tanjung Perak port in Surabaya, East Java -- the two busiest ports in the country.

Unlike the country's sea ports, all of Indonesia's international airports have been equipped with X-ray detectors for air freight.

Soehardjo, however, declined to disclose the investment costs for procuring and installing X-ray detectors for containers, saying that their procurement is still in being processed.

The container detectors are expected to be installed some time next year, when the customs law comes into force and the customs office regains its inspection authority for imported and exported goods. (rid)