Food Smuggling in West Kalimantan, Amran: This is a Large Network

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman stated that the case of smuggling 23.1 tonnes of food items in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, was carried out by a large syndicate. Amran assessed that the smuggling was not an ordinary case, so the authorities must investigate it thoroughly. “We demand that it be investigated to the root. The intellectual actors must be dismantled. This is a large network, not an ordinary case,” said Amran in his statement on Saturday (18/4/2026). According to him, the enforcement is commendable and serves as proof of the state’s presence in protecting the agricultural sector and stabilising food prices. In that operation, the Food Task Force secured 2.1 tonnes of shallots from Thailand; 9.1 tonnes of garlic from China; 7.9 tonnes of onions from the Netherlands; and 2.2 tonnes of dried chillies from China. According to Amran, this smuggling case is only the tip of the iceberg of repeated dishonest practices in various regions. He noted that in the last six months, authorities have successfully thwarted the smuggling of 133.5 tonnes of illegal onions in Semarang. The smuggling is carried out repeatedly, in an organised manner, and with the same pattern. “Repeatedly we say this is the food mafia. The scale is already hundreds to thousands of tonnes. That means there is a large force behind it,” Amran stated.