Customs foils US$3.52 mln gold smuggling attempt at Soetta Airport

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2 hours ago

Tangerang, Banten (ANTARA) – Customs authorities at Soekarno-Hatta (Soetta) International Airport have thwarted attempts to smuggle 23.7 kilograms of 24-karat gold worth Rp63 billion (US$3.52 million), arresting seven Chinese nationals and an Indonesian ground-handling employee in two separate operations.

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa revealed the busts during a press conference on Thursday (August 13), praising the joint operation with Airport Aviation Security (Avsec) that dismantled two separate smuggling schemes in less than 24 hours at Terminal 3.

The first operation targeted seven Chinese nationals who were preparing to depart for Hong Kong aboard Cathay Pacific flight CX798 and Garuda Indonesia flight GA860.

Customs officers initially became suspicious of their hand luggage, and physical inspections subsequently uncovered a sophisticated smuggling method more commonly associated with narcotics trafficking.

“Customs officers encountered two different methods. The first involved smuggling 99.99-percent pure, or 24-karat, gold by concealing it in body cavities, including the female genital tract and rectum,” Minister Purbaya said.

“In the second case, they discovered the involvement of unscrupulous ground-handling personnel who transported gold to passengers,” he added.

According to Customs and Excise Director General Dejaka Budhi Utama, officers became suspicious of a passenger’s hand luggage, leading to the discovery of cylindrical gold bars and molded gold powder.

Subsequent body scans revealed that the foreign nationals had concealed the gold using modified underwear, body straps, and body-cavity insertion, he said.

In the first operation, officers seized 41 gold bars weighing 17.436 kilograms with an estimated value of Rp46 billion (US$2.57 million). The seven Chinese nationals have been charged under Article 102A(a) of Law No. 17 of 2006 on Customs.

Later that day, at approximately 7:40 p.m. Western Indonesia Time, officers uncovered a second smuggling scheme involving an Indonesian ground-handling employee who allegedly used an employee-only loading dock to bypass X-ray screening.

The employee was caught carrying seven gold bars weighing 6.357 kilograms and valued at Rp17 billion (US$951,000) to hand over to an Indonesian passenger bound for Dubai aboard Emirates flight EK357. Officers apprehended the passenger before departure.

The investigation into the domestic origin of the confiscated gold has been handed over to the National Police Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim Polri) and the Directorate General of Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

Customs officials reiterated that transporting gold abroad must comply with applicable export and customs regulations, including Finance Ministry regulations (PMK) governing passenger baggage declarations and mandatory export duties.