Lululemon Export Goods Theft Case Suspected to Have Occurred Before Entering the Airport's Cargo Area
Case of missing Lululemon export items at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport continues to draw attention after police disclosed suspected theft within the export cargo distribution channel. However, industry logistics players say the alleged substitution of goods is suspected to have occurred before entering the area under the cargo facility operator’s responsibility.
Chairman of the Soekarno-Hatta Trade Facilities Committee, Andrianto Soedjarwo, stressed that the case did not occur in the regulated agent area or at the cargo terminal operator as has been reported in some coverage.
‘It needs to be clarified that there has not yet been a handover to the regulated agent in this case. Therefore the responsibility for the goods remains with the carrier or shipper,’ Andrianto said on Friday (22/5).
The case originated from a report by PT Pungkook Indonesia One, which exported Lululemon products to Shanghai, China. In the course of the investigation, police found the loss of 108 bags with an estimated value exceeding Rp1 billion. Police have arrested several suspects believed to be involved in the theft ring.
According to Andrianto, the export process at Soekarno-Hatta involves strict stages. After obtaining export clearance from Customs, goods proceed to screening before the handover to the regulated agent and onward to the ‘lini satu’ warehouse for dispatch.
However, based on the investigation results received by the STFC, the alleged theft occurred before the official handover process took place.
He explained that several boxes that had entered the initial inspection area were reportedly retrieved before the contents were swapped. During this process, tracking of the goods is said to have changed, resulting in a discrepancy in the number of items when they arrived in the destination country.
‘The regulated agent only ensures the quantity of boxes and documents at handover. When there is no handover yet, the goods are not the responsibility of the regulated agent or the warehouse operator,’ he said.
Andrianto added that, according to the statements in the examination record (BAP), there is an admission regarding the alleged substitution of goods that took place before the handover stage.
Separately, police investigations and CCTV footage indicate that the suspects exploited a loophole in the stage before the final delivery. Some goods were separated before dispatch.
STFC says this explanation is important to avoid the misperception that the security of the Soekarno-Hatta cargo area is wholly problematic. He notes that cargo area management involves multiple stakeholders, from Customs, airport authorities, cargo terminal operators, regulated agents, to forwarding companies.
‘We must not allow the assumption that Soekarno-Hatta is not safe overall, whereas this case occurred before the goods entered the area under the regulation of the regulated agent and airport operator,’ he said.