Gold Smuggling Worth Rp 63 Billion Uncovered at Soekarno-Hatta, Purbaya Reveals Two Methods

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, alongside Customs and Excise at Soekarno-Hatta and the Criminal Investigation Department of the Indonesian National Police, held a press conference regarding the successful foiling of two gold smuggling cases that violated export regulations at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Tangerang, Banten. He emphasised that this success was the result of cooperation and synergy between Customs, the Criminal Investigation Department, and various other involved parties, utilising technology to screen every passenger at the airport.

“In less than 24 hours, Customs took action on two different methods. The first was by inserting it into the female organ and the rectum,” Purbaya stated during the press conference at the Soekarno-Hatta Customs office, Tangerang, Banten, on Thursday, 13 August 2026. In this case, officers secured evidence in the form of 41 pieces of 24-carat gold shaped like cylinders. The total weight reached 17.43 kg, with an estimated value of around Rp 46 billion.

In the second case, Purbaya explained that cast bar gold pieces with a total weight of 6.35 kg were also seized, with an estimated value reaching Rp 17 billion. “They utilised an individual from the ground handling staff to carry the gold to the passengers,” he said.

Regarding the chronology of the discoveries, the Director General of Customs and Excise, Djaka Budhi Utama, outlined the sequence of events. The first case stemmed from officers’ suspicions of seven Chinese nationals who were about to fly to Hong Kong. When their hand-carry bags were searched, cylinder-shaped gold and egg-shaped gold were found hidden in the front part of the bags. The precious metal was also discovered hidden in modified trousers, concealed in their private parts. “Hidden in bags, modified trousers, inserted into, pardon me, the genitals or the rectum. So this naturally affected the carriers’ body movements,” Djaka said.

For the second case, Djaka explained that the disclosure began with information from Aviation Security regarding the suspected carrying of gold in hand-carry luggage by a ground handling staff member at the loading dock of Terminal 3 International Arrivals.