Semarang Customs Uncovers Various Smuggling Modes for Illegal Cigarettes and Alcohol Worth IDR 21 Billion

The Semarang Customs and Excise Office has uncovered a variety of new modus operandi used by perpetrators to distribute illegal excisable goods, ranging from modified private vehicles to the use of molasses tanker trucks. Throughout the first half of 2026, the office carried out 138 enforcement actions, with the total value of seized goods reaching IDR 21.58 billion.

Mochamad Syuhadak, Head of the Semarang Customs and Excise Office, stated that the changing modus operandi of the perpetrators reflects the increasingly complex challenges faced in field supervision. He noted that perpetrators continuously seek loopholes to avoid detection when distributing illegal cigarettes.

One of the most frequently encountered modes involves private vehicles that have been modified, particularly their suspension systems, to appear normal while carrying large quantities of illegal cigarettes. In other cases, officers discovered cigarettes without excise stamps hidden in special compartments beneath loads of plastic waste or coconuts to deceive inspections. A particularly novel method involved the use of molasses tanker trucks, where the tanks were deliberately kept dry and used to store millions of illegal cigarettes, giving the appearance of a vehicle transporting a plantation commodity.

Of the 138 enforcement actions conducted up to 30 June 2026, 133 were related to tobacco products and five involved beverages containing ethyl alcohol. From the tobacco sector, officers secured 14,416,520 sticks of illegal machine-rolled kretek cigarettes and machine-rolled white cigarettes, with an estimated value of IDR 21.42 billion and potential state losses prevented amounting to IDR 13.96 billion. In the alcohol sector, 517.68 litres of beverages containing ethyl alcohol, including class C drinks and arak, were seized, valued at IDR 165.4 million, preventing potential state losses of IDR 88.19 million.

Syuhadak emphasised that enforcement operations will continue to be optimised in line with the evolving smuggling methods. He also called on business operators to conduct their activities in accordance with regulations and urged the public not to purchase or distribute illegal excisable goods, and to immediately report any indications of their circulation to Customs and Excise.