TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - East Java Directorate General of Customs and Excise Regional Office destroys 18,662,832 illegal cigarettes on Tuesday, February 9, 2016. Rahmat Subagio Chief of the Regional Office said that illegal distribution of cigarettes had caused billions of state losses. "The country loses around Rp 4.8 billion," Rahmat said.
The destroying of these illegal cigarettes was the third time to be carried out throughout 2015. Previously, the Directorate General of Customs and Excise had destroyed 9,751,000 illegal cigarettes with a total loss reaching up to Rp 2.6 billion.
Rahmat said that throughout 2015, the Directorate General had seized 63,649,451 million illegal cigarettes with a total losses reaching up to Rp 15 billion. "The total value of illegal cigarettes currently destroyed reaches 30 billion," Rahmat said.
The illegal cigarettes, according to Rahmat, were confiscated from various places in Surabaya. Other than cigarettes, the East Java customs office will also destroy other goods including 33,949 illegal alcoholic beverages.
NUR HADI
