Customs Seizes 7.8 Million Illegal Cigarettes in South Sulawesi

Customs has once again thwarted the distribution of illegal cigarettes. On this occasion, the South Sulawesi Regional Office of the Directorate General of Customs and Excise uncovered 7.8 million sticks of cigarettes lacking excise stamps.

According to gathered information, the incident occurred at Soekarno-Hatta Port, Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Monday, 27 July 2026. The chronology began on 22 July, when members of the public reported a shipment of suspected illegal cigarettes travelling from East Java to Makassar.

Customs subsequently investigated the information, which revealed an additional shipping container identical to the one mentioned in the initial report. Following these suspicions, an Intelligence Result Note was issued by the South Sulawesi Regional Office of Customs and Excise on 23 July 2026 regarding the two containers.

“Immediately after the targeted containers arrived at Soekarno Hatta-Makassar port, the P2 Team of the Regional Office coordinated with the Hangar and Pelindo to conduct an initial inspection and subsequently placed a hold system on the two containers,” the report stated on Sunday, 2 August 2026.

On Monday, 27 July 2026, the Regional Office team conducted an initial inspection and discovered approximately 276 packages in one container and approximately 213 packages in the other containing illegal cigarettes. In total, there were 7,824,000 sticks of cigarettes with an estimated value of Rp 11,618,640,000. The estimated total state revenue loss saved is approximately Rp 7,570,619,760.