T

he Customs and Excise Directorate General (DJBC) has arrested five people on board a Philippine-flagged boat for allegedly attempting to smuggle goods from the neighboring country.

The head of the prosecution and investigation division of DJBC’s North Sulawesi regional office, Agus Amiwijaya, said the arrest had been made in October but was only made public recently for various reasons, including coordination with the Philippine consulate general.

He said the ship, KM Rod Race, was seized while it was passing the Sangihe regency waters, North Sulawesi.

“They departed from General Santos, South Philippines, heading to Tinakareng, Sangihe regency,” Agus told a press briefing at the Bitung custom and excise office last week, adding that five people were found on board the ship along with the goods.

Further examination revealed that the goods did not come with proper excise documents. There were 708 bottles of Carlo Rossi wine, 60 bottles of Tanduay rum, 27 cartons of animal supplies, 2,556 bottles of Coca Cola, 4,716 bottles of supplement drinks and 60 cans of juice aboard the ship. Agus said the goods were worth Rp 2,493,689,428 in total.

Agus also said that the five people on board the ship had been named as suspects in the case.

Separately, head of Bitung custom and excise office, Fitra Kristianto, said the case would soon be handed over to the prosecutors’ office. “We have consulted with them. We will hand over the case once the dossier has been completed,” he said.