Jakarta. The circulation of illegal cigarettes in Indonesia is becoming increasingly widespread. In addition to being cheaper, illegal cigarettes are readily available at small stalls along the streets.

Senior lawmaker Melchias Markus Mekeng said that the low purchasing power of the people, combined with rising prices of legal cigarettes, has led many to opt for illegal cigarettes as a more affordable alternative.

“These illegal cigarettes are produced both domestically and abroad. This is a consequence of the high prices of legal cigarettes and the reduced purchasing power,” he said on Wednesday.

Mekeng noted that the distribution of illegal cigarettes is no longer on a large scale but rather through smaller channels, such as direct supply to small stalls that are difficult to monitor.

“They’re not operating on a large scale but on a smaller scale and many go into small stalls,” he added.

Mekeng calls for stronger supervision by the Customs and Excise authorities and stricter law enforcement to address the circulation of illegal cigarettes. However, he remains doubtful that the issue can be fully eradicated because it involves many parties, including small communities selling illegal cigarettes.

“Given the conditions in society, the demand for cigarettes is still strong, the prices are high, and there’s a cheaper offer—people will definitely turn to that. So, we hope it can be resolved, but I’m not sure it can be 100 percent clean,” he said.

Customs and Excise authorities, alongside other law enforcement agencies, recently intercepted an illegal cigarette smuggling operation led by the Indonesian Navy's Banten Command (Lanal Banten), resulting in the seizure of 6.976 million illegal cigarette sticks from East Java, bound for Sumatra.

The cigarettes, found in a container truck carrying 436 boxes, had excise stamps that did not match the listed product, causing a potential state loss of Rp 5.2 billion. The packaging of the cigarettes incorrectly featured a hand-rolled clove cigarette label, although the cigarettes were machine-rolled. The total value of the seized cigarettes is estimated at Rp 9.6 billion, and Lanal Banten will hand over the case to Merak Customs and Excise for further investigation.

According to data from the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, the circulation of illegal cigarettes in 2023 caused state losses of up to Rp 15.01 trillion.