Bali customs office seizes 'illegally imported' alcoholic drinks

Bali customs office seizes 'illegally imported' alcoholic drinks
Desy Nurhayati , The Jakarta Post , Badung, Bali | Fri, 04/09/2010 6:27 PM | National


Bali Customs and Excise Office has confiscated thousands of bottles of imported alcoholic drinks with allegedly counterfeit excise labels, causing an estimated Rp 150 million of losses to the state.

Officer Marino said that the drinks, totaling around 2,800 bottles from various brands, were seized from two sub-distributors in Denpasar at around 2 a.m. Friday.

The two sub-distributors were located on Jl. Gatot Subroto and Jl. Danau Tempe, he said.

During the raid, the office also arrested two suspects, identified as J.S. and N.M. Both are responsible for managing the two sub-distributors.

"We got information from several retailers that many alcoholic drinks being sold at local markets were attached with counterfeit excise labels, and we finally found these two sub-distributors," Marino said.

Most of the bottles were already attached with the fake labels. Along with the drinks, the customs officers also seized some rolls of unattached labels.

Marino said the case would be handed over to the police for further investigation.

The suspects could be charged of violating the Customs Law and could face up to five years in jail, he said.