Labuan Bajo customs seize 880,000 untaxed cigarettes at Wae Kelambu port

Labuan Bajo — Customs officials say they blocked the circulation of about 880,000 allegedly illegal cigarettes at the Multipurpose Wae Kelambu Port in Komodo district, West Manggarai, after stopping an expedition truck carrying mixed cargo on 24 August 2026, according to local media and the Labuan Bajo Customs and Excise Office.

The cigarettes, described as machine-made kretek cigarettes (sigaret kretek mesin, SKM) without excise bands, were valued at around Rp1.3 billion, with a potential excise loss of roughly Rp656 million, according to statements from the Labuan Bajo office reported by Detik and Flores Pikiran Rakyat (Oke Flores).

The enforcement action followed intelligence information about a suspected shipment of untaxed excisable goods in a truck with mixed cargo. Customs’ Enforcement and Investigation Team (Tim Penindakan dan Penyidikan, P2) then conducted a land patrol around the port area and inspected a vehicle that matched the intelligence description, Detik reported.

What Customs says it found

Officials reported seizing 55 cartons of SKM cigarettes without excise bands. The load was described as consisting of two brands:

• MANDHURO: 35 cartons, or 560,000 cigarettes
• MARBOL: 20 cartons, or 320,000 cigarettes
• Total: 55 cartons, or 880,000 cigarettes

According to Detik and other local coverage citing the Labuan Bajo office, the estimated value of the seized cigarettes was more than Rp1.3 billion, and the potential excise loss to the state was put at around Rp656.4 million.

Officials said the cigarettes were secured for further handling, and that legal and administrative processing of the seized goods was still under way. They described the action as part of ongoing efforts to protect the public and safeguard state revenue from illegal tobacco products.

Status of the case and unanswered points

Available reports confirm the seizure but do not state that the driver, the trucking company or the cargo owner has been formally named as a suspect. The coverage does not specify whether the driver was detained, questioned and released, or in what capacity they were processed under customs or criminal procedure.

The reports also do not identify the ownership chain of the cigarettes, the contracting shipper or recipient, or the full route taken by the truck before arriving at Wae Kelambu Port. They describe the cigarettes only as part of a mixed expedition load near the port, without listing the other goods in the truck or clarifying whether those goods were released, retained or further examined.

One local article cites a young trader from East Manggarai questioning the status of the driver and the validity of the shipping documents. He asks whether the truck driver has been formally examined, who issued and signed the transport paperwork, what was declared in that document, and whether its contents match the cigarettes found by Customs.

He does not claim the document was forged; instead, he argues that any alleged mismatch or falsification must be proven through examination and evidence rather than assumed from the seizure alone.

Legal framework

Commentators and local stakeholders have linked the case to Indonesia’s Excise Law, Law No. 11 of 1995 as amended by Law No. 7 of 2021 on Harmonisation of Tax Regulations, and to the Customs Law, Law No. 10 of 1995 as amended by Law No. 17 of 2006, which govern excise obligations, customs procedures and penalties for illegal circulation of excisable goods.

However, the enforcement reports do not specify which exact articles Customs may apply in this case, nor whether the suspected violations relate primarily to possession, transportation, distribution or documentation. They also do not indicate whether the case has been transferred to prosecutors or remains at the administrative enforcement stage within Customs.

Local task force and earlier actions

The Labuan Bajo Customs and Excise Office has previously reported cooperating with a district-level task force for combating illegal cigarette circulation in West Manggarai. According to the office’s official publications, the task force is led by the regent and involves Customs, the police, the military, civil service police and prosecutors.

Earlier coverage from 2025 reported multiple enforcement actions against illegal cigarettes in West Manggarai markets, with hundreds of packs and tens of thousands of illegal cigarettes seized, and a cumulative tally of more than 700,000 illegal cigarettes secured in that period. Customs has said that these operations are paired with public education campaigns to raise awareness of excise regulations and the risks of buying untaxed cigarettes.

Against that backdrop, the 24 August 2026 truck case at Wae Kelambu Port is presented by Customs as part of a continuing crackdown on illicit tobacco distribution routes through Labuan Bajo and surrounding areas. For now, though, publicly available information focuses on the number of cigarettes seized and the estimated excise impact, rather than on the subsequent legal steps for the driver, the transport company or the cargo owners.

Sources

• Detik Bali - 880 Ribu Batang Rokok Ilegal Digagalkan di Labuan Bajo, Nilainya Rp 1,3 Miliar
• Suara Nusantara - Jalur Gelap Wae Kelambu Terbongkar: Bea Cukai Labuan Bajo Sita 880 Ribu Batang Rokok Ilegal Senilai Rp1,3 Miliar
• Labuan Bajo Customs official site - Deklarasi Satgas Pemberantasan Rokok Ilegal
• Elshinta - Bea Cukai Labuan Bajo teliti ratusan bungkus rokok diduga ilegal
• Flores Pikiran Rakyat (Oke Flores)