Fake Minyakita Syndicate Busted, Bulk Oil Repackaged

The Directorate of Special Criminal Investigation (Ditreskrimsus) of the East Java Regional Police has uncovered an illegal production and repackaging practice of the subsidised cooking oil, Minyakita, in Sidoarjo. The Head of Public Relations of the East Java Police, Commissioner Jules Abraham Abast, stated that this disclosure is part of the police’s efforts to maintain food stability and protect consumer rights. In this case, police have named four individuals as suspects: HPT (38) as the financier, MHS (32) and SST (51) as supervisors, and ARS (29) as the production operator. “Today, we are reporting the uncovering of a criminal case involving the production of illegal palm cooking oil branded Minyakita, particularly related to quality standards, labelling, and measurements,” said Jules in Sidoarjo on Wednesday (22/4). The Director of Ditreskrimsus of the East Java Police, Commissioner Roy HM Sihombing, said that a search was conducted at a warehouse in the Sedati area, Sidoarjo. The company was found to lack business permits, SNI certification, and was using fake BPOM numbers. The modus operandi used by the suspects was to purchase bulk cooking oil from official distributors in Surabaya, then repackage it using Minyakita labels without permission. The perpetrators deliberately adjusted the packaging machines so that the oil content did not match the volume stated on the bottles. “In practice, the suspects produced cooking oil with measurements that did not match the labels,” said Roy. He detailed that for packaging labelled as 1 litre, the suspects only filled it with 700 to 900 millilitres. Meanwhile, for 5-litre jerrycans, the content was only around 4,600 millilitres. Based on examination results, this illegal practice has been operating since December 2023. With a production capacity of up to 1,000 cartons per run, the suspects earned turnover in the hundreds of millions. “From the examination results, it is known that this practice has been ongoing since December 2023 with a production capacity of 900 to 1,000 cartons per production run and turnover of around Rp234 million,” revealed Roy. The counterfeit products have been distributed to various regions inside and outside East Java, including Jember, Trenggalek, and even to Tarakan in North Kalimantan. In addition to Sedati, police also found similar practices at a warehouse in the Taman area, Sidoarjo. Although the company at the second location had official permits, they still committed administrative and criminal violations. “At this second location, the company has official permits but still violates by reducing the oil measurement in the packaging,” he said. In this operation, officers seized various pieces of evidence, from packaging machines, storage tanks, dozens of cartons of ready-to-sell Minyakita, to one distribution tanker truck. For their actions, the suspects are charged under Article 120 of Law No. 3 of 2014 on Industry, Article 62 in conjunction with Article 8 of Law No. 8 of 1999 on Consumer Protection, and Article 68 of Law No. 20 of 2014 on Standardisation and Conformity Assessment, with threats of imprisonment up to 5 years and fines in the billions of rupiah.