TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Customs on Wednesday, December 22, destroyed millions of illegal goods worth Rp15.6 billion. The illegal goods include cigarettes, imported alcoholic beverages, used clothes, fake excise stamps, and textiles, among others.

The destruction took place at Cikarang and was streamed live.

The Directorate General of Customs and Excise cooperated with the Directorate of Enforcement and Investigation, the West Java DJBC Regional Office, and the Tigaraksa District Attorney's Office, Tangerang Regency.

The Finance Ministry's director general of customs, Askolani, said that the Customs Office and other related institutions consistently monitor and confiscate illegal goods amid the pandemic. Over the past two years, the frequency of illegal goods trade has continued to rise.

Of the total items destroyed today were 20,227 bottles of imported alcoholic beverages and 450,000 cigarettes imported illegally from China.

Askolani said that the government continues to take consistent and decisive measures to protect the economy by securing state revenue rights. One of those measures is utilizing the allocation of the Tobacco Excise Revenue Sharing Fund (DBHCHT).

Askolani said that the presence of illegal goods distorts prices and disrupts the economy, competitiveness, and fairness of business activities, and is harmful to legal economic activities.

Previously, Customs and Excise worked closely with the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), the TNI, the police and the Attorney General's Office to thwart the smuggling and confiscation of narcotics, which amounted to more than 34 tons in 2021 alone.

Read: Pandemic Resulted in Growth of Seized Illegal Goods

Antara