Theft of 108 Lululemon Bags at Soekarno-Hatta Airport Unlikely Without Inside Help

Aviation analyst Alvin Lie believes the case of the theft of 108 Lululemon bags in the cargo area of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport is unlikely to have occurred without the assistance of internal actors who understand the airport’s cargo operational system.

According to Alvin, the international cargo terminal is an area with layered supervision because it is under the supervision of the Directorate General of Customs and Excise (DJBC) and Regulated Agent (RA) companies.

“The fact that this theft has occurred repeatedly suggests the involvement of cooperation with personnel from the expedition company, RA and/or DJBC,” said Alvin when contacted by Kompas.com via WhatsApp message, Friday (15/5/2026).

He explained that all export goods entering the cargo terminal must pass security checks and quantity verification before being flown abroad.

“Before export goods enter the cargo terminal, they must pass security checks conducted by the Regulated Agent (RA) company,” he said.

In addition, access in and out of the cargo terminal is also said to be very limited.

“Only RA and DJBC officers have access to enter and exit the airport’s cargo terminal,” said Alvin.

According to him, if the theft occurred before the goods entered the customs area, there should be a discrepancy in the number of cartons detected during inspection by the Regulated Agent.

However, if the theft occurred in the cargo terminal or RA warehouse, the discrepancy in the number of goods should be visible during the flight manifest reconciliation process.

“If the theft occurs in the RA warehouse or cargo terminal, there will be a discrepancy between the manifest and the physical quantity to be loaded onto the aircraft,” said Alvin.

He explained that tally officers from the airline have the obligation to check the quantity of goods for the issuance of the outward manifest and airway bill.

Therefore, Alvin believes that this case shows weaknesses in the customs area supervision system and cargo terminal security.

“If theft of export or import goods occurs in the customs area, this indicates weaknesses in the implementation of the DJBC supervision system and RA security,” he said.