REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MEDAN -- Customs and the Trade Ministry seized seven containers of oranges and apples, illegally imported from China, at the Belawan Port of North Sumatra. The mandarin oranges and apples from China had entered the North Sumatra port without the Trade Ministry's license, the ministry's Director for Business Conduct Veri Anggrijono noted in Deliserdang, North Sumatra, on Tuesday.

Anggrijono, who was accompanied by head of the Belawan customs office Haryo and an official of agricultural quarantine of the Agriculture Ministry, inspected the confiscated illegal fruits stored in a warehouse at the Diski Trade Centre.

Anggrijono noted that the government had, since the past few months, not issued import licenses for mandarin oranges from China, but it had permitted the imports of oranges from Pakistan.

"The supplier did not have the required import license as stipulated in Ministerial Decree No. 43 of 2017," he added.

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PT Suci Abadi Terang, as the supplier of the commodities, has violated article 24 of Law No. 7 of 2014 that carries a maximum penalty of four years in jail, or a fine of Rp10 billion.

The ministry will continue its investigation in the illegal import case, Anggrijono remarked.

Meanwhile, head of the Belawan customs office Haryo noted that the containers, with 8,721 boxes of mandarin oranges and 1,002 boxes of apples, had been confiscated in mid-February.

The customs office had received a tip-off on the illegal import and had coordinated with the Trade Ministry to seize the illegal products.

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