Soekarno-Hatta Customs Reveals New Trend of 'Gold Couriers' to Hong Kong, Mostly Chinese Nationals

JAKARTA – Kompas.com Soekarno-Hatta Customs has uncovered a surge in gold smuggling abroad via international passenger routes over the past month. Of the 12 cases thwarted between April and May 2026, the majority of suspects were Chinese nationals with flights bound for Hong Kong. Head of Soekarno-Hatta Customs Office, Hengky Tomuan Parlindungan Aritonang, stated that a total of 17.55 kilograms of gold, valued at approximately Rp45.73 billion, was seized. “Our enforcement actions are based on monitoring and analysis of international passengers’ belongings suspected of carrying high-value commodities without complying with export regulations,” Hengky said in a statement on Thursday (28 May 2026). The first case was uncovered on 16 April 2026 when an Indonesian national identified as LCD was found carrying 60 gold bars weighing 3.018 grams, valued at Rp7.6 billion, en route to Hong Kong. However, smuggling trends increased in May 2026, predominantly involving Chinese nationals. One of the largest cases occurred on 19 May 2026 when officers thwarted an attempt to smuggle 10 kilograms of cast bar gold valued at Rp26.18 billion carried by a passenger identified as FH bound for Hong Kong. Hengky said all cases are under customs investigation and laboratory testing to verify gold purity in accordance with customs regulations. “We are interrogating the suspects intensively to determine each party’s role and investigate possible international network involvement,” he said. Customs is also developing intelligence and coordinating with other agencies to investigate allegations of organised smuggling patterns via international passenger routes. This includes the Finance Ministry Regulation (PMK) No. 80 of 2025, which imposes export duties on gold in various forms, including doré, ingots, cast bars, granules, and minted bars. “This policy is implemented to support national industry downstreaming and optimise state revenue from high-value commodities,” Hengky said. He stressed that all passengers carrying gold or gold jewellery abroad must declare their belongings to Customs under PMK Regulation No. 203/PMK.04/2017.