Illegally imported goods are now being sold openly through online shopping platforms, he highlighted here on Friday.
According to the findings of the illegally imported goods handling task force, the types of goods being imported illegally into the country include electronic devices, toys, clothes, smartphones, and tablet computers.
"We will discuss it with associations (whose businesses are) at risk of closing," Hasan said.
He further said that his ministry and the task force are carrying out data collection regarding the warehouses that are being used to store illegal goods.
According to him, in each province, there are at least 30–40 such warehouses.
What is more unfortunate is that the importers are foreign nationals, he said. He then urged regional governments to immediately report any rented public warehouses they find to the task force.
Earlier, the minister said that the task force found products worth Rp40 billion (around US$2.46 million) smuggled from abroad.
This, according to him, was the first finding of the task force ever since it was launched on July 19, 2024.
The illegally imported goods, he said, were found stored in a rented warehouse in North Jakarta. Based on the results of an interim investigation, the importers who brought the goods were foreign nationals.
The goods comprised smartphones and tablet computers worth Rp2.7 billion (around US$166,053), clothes worth Rp20 billion (around US$1.22 million), electronic devices worth Rp12.3 billion (around US$755,910), and toys worth Rp5 billion (around US$307,280).
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Translator: Maria Cicilia, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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