Jakarta, Aug. 11 -- The Directorate General of Customs and Excise foiled the shipment of 8.96 million illegal cigarettes found with no excise stamps.

Enforcement action was taken against two containers during the monitoring of inter-regional and inter-island goods traffic at Tanjung Priok Port.

"This represents a new scheme involving rail transport from Surabaya to Jakarta, followed by onward shipment to the Sumatra region," the Director General of Customs and Excise, Djaka Budhi Utama, informed in a press conference on Tuesday.

He explained that the estimated value of the goods reached Rp13.30 billion (US$726 thousand), with a potential state revenue loss of Rp8.66 billion (US$473 thousand).

This figure comprises potential excise rev...