Jakarta Customs Destroys 12.9 Million Illegal Cigarettes
The Jakarta Regional Customs Office has destroyed illegal excisable goods worth Rp20.18 billion seized during enforcement operations throughout 2025 up to July 2026. The potential state losses from these seizures are estimated at Rp11.81 billion.
The destroyed items are State-Owned Goods resulting from Operation Asap and Operation Macan Kemayoran. The destruction covered 12,979,847 sticks of illegal tobacco products, 28,263.7 grams of tobacco, and 1,506 bottles or 901.93 litres of beverages containing ethyl alcohol.
Head of the Jakarta Regional Customs Office Hendri Darnadi said the destruction serves as a form of accountability for enforcement results as well as an effort to carry out the community protector function to shield the public from the circulation of illegal goods.
“Operations against illegal excisable goods are a tangible manifestation of the shared commitment of law enforcement officials to carry out the function of public protection, particularly in the Jakarta area and its surroundings,” Hendri said in a statement on Thursday (20/8/2026).
According to Hendri, Jakarta Customs will continue to strengthen synergy with law enforcement agencies and related institutions to prevent the circulation of illegal excisable goods.
He said the measure is necessary to safeguard state revenue while creating a healthy business climate for business operators who fulfil their obligations.
The destruction was carried out through synergy between Customs and the Jakarta Special Region High Prosecutor’s Office, the Military Police of Kodam Jayakarta, the DKI Jakarta Provincial Civil Service Police Unit, and the Directorate General of State Assets at the Ministry of Finance.
The goods were designated as State-Owned Goods through 99 State-Owned Goods Decrees and had obtained approval for destruction. In addition to the potential state loss of Rp11.81 billion, some cases were resolved through ultimum remedium with state revenue of Rp1.09 billion.
Meanwhile, Director General of Customs and Excise Djaka Budhi Utama revealed that his agency has foiled the smuggling of 1.2 billion sticks of illegal or unstamped cigarettes from January to July 2026.
Based on Customs data, the uncovering of illegal cigarette smuggling increased by nearly 100 percent compared to the same period the previous year.
“That means almost 100 percent from last year. Last year in one semester we only reached around 600 million sticks, but now we have managed to reach 1.2 billion cigarettes,” Djaka said.
The rampant circulation of illegal cigarettes has also impacted state revenue. The Institute for Development of Economics and Finance, in a study titled “Bleak Tobacco Industry, Gloomy State Revenue” together with APINDO, estimates the potential state loss due to the circulation of illegal cigarettes reaches Rp15 trillion per year.
Illegal cigarettes can take the form of products without excise stamps, using counterfeit excise stamps, or used excise stamps. The circulation of such products has the potential to eliminate three official sources of state revenue, namely Tobacco Products Excise, Cigarette Tax which constitutes local own-source revenue, and Value-Added Tax on Tobacco Products.