Kediri Customs seize 1.5 million illegal cigarettes after highway chase

Kediri Customs officers seized 1,564,400 illegal cigarettes after a box truck resisted arrest and led them on a chase through East Java’s toll-road network.

The operation took place at about 2:30 a.m. on the Surabaya-Nganjuk road, near the Sukomoro gas station in Nganjuk regency. Officers had received information that a truck with license plate B 9800 TCG was carrying illegal cigarettes from Madura through the Trans-Java Toll Road.

Four officers from the Kediri Customs Lembu Suro enforcement team monitored the vehicle on the Kertosono-Ngawi toll road. When they tried to stop it, the truck continued driving, prompting a pursuit. It collided with a Kediri Customs vehicle and a toll-road patrol vehicle before leaving through the Nganjuk toll exit by breaking through the barrier.

“

Our Kediri Customs Lembu Suro enforcement team stopped and inspected the box truck suspected of carrying illegal excise goods. During the stop, the vehicle resisted, and officers pursued it until it was secured.

The chase continued onto the Surabaya-Nganjuk road. In Sukomoro, the truck struck a bus and ended up in a ditch. The incident damaged the Customs vehicle, a Jasa Marga vehicle, the toll barrier and the bus, according to Arintoko Dwi Wiharto, head of information services and public education at Kediri Customs.

A search of the cargo found cigarettes without excise stamps, including the Fantastic Mild brand and several others. The shipment consisted of 78,300 packs and was valued at 2,323,134,000 rupiah. Authorities estimated that the seizure prevented state losses of 1,513,736,906 rupiah.

“

The evidence seized amounted to 78,300 packs, or 1,564,400 illegal cigarettes. The goods were estimated to be worth 2,323,134,000 rupiah, with potential state losses of 1,513,736,906 rupiah avoided.