Major smuggling attempts foiled at airport
JAKARTA (JP): Customs and Excise officers at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport foiled attempts to smuggle historical artifacts, compact discs and dried marijuana worth a combined value of billions of rupiah in the month of November, an official said on Wednesday.
The airport's head of customs and excise, Heru Santoso, told reporters that the most valuable single haul of contraband consisted of antique swords.
The consignment was uncovered on Nov. 12, Heru said, adding that the swords were in an airmail package sent from Medan in North Sumatra to Madrid in Spain.
"It's the first airmail smuggling attempt we've ever been aware of. Goods are usually smuggled in containers," Heru said.
The customs declaration stated that the package contained souvenirs, however X-ray inspection revealed a number of swords, some of which dated to the 14th century Ming dynasty in China. Others were identified as antique swords from Nias island and Batak Karo in Sumatra.
Hari Untoro from the Ministry of Education and Culture's directorate general for the protection of archeological goods said the swords were very valuable.
Heru said the attempt had violated Law No. 5/1992, which seeks to protect the country's archeological and cultural inheritance. The perpetrator faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail and a fine of up to Rp 100 million (US$13,333).
He said his officers then foiled an attempt to smuggle 9,270 compact discs containing pirated computer software later the same day.
Legitimate versions of the software would have retailed for a combined total of US$70 million, he said, adding that the haul included illegal copies of Auto Cad version 12, which retails for US$10,000 a copy.
The packages had been sent by a West Jakarta company to Singapore, he said.
On Nov. 20, a consignment of 1,100 pirated music compact discs was intercepted, followed by 22,000 compact discs containing pirated music and pornographic films on Nov. 23. Both shipments were destined for Singapore, he said.
The Nov. 20 shipment would have caused a loss of Rp 50 million to the holders of the property rights had it reached the streets, while the second shipment would have caused a loss of Rp 1 billion, he explained.
An officer from the Jakarta Police special crimes unit, Capt. Bustari, said on Wednesday that the guilty parties could be either the owners of the goods or the exporters.
"To establish if the exporters were involved we will first need to study the export documents," Bustari added.
Customs and excise officers assisted by police also arrested three men caught shipping 50 kilograms of dried marijuana worth Rp 500 million from Medan to Jakarta through Soekarno-Hatta airport. One accomplice managed to escape, Heru said without giving further details.
Tangerang Police chief Lt. Col. Pudji Hartanto said the three arrested man were identified as Abdurahman, Fauzi and Mukti. (41/jun)