REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM), the National Police, the Customs Office, and Home Affairs Ministry have seized a number of import products, worth Rp146.88 billion, during 2016-2017 period. According to the head of BPOM, Penny Kusumastuti Lukito, said that she has informed this to members of the House of Representatives (DPR) during the meeting with Commission IX.

"Most illegal products were smuggled by individuals, because many people now are unaware that distributing packages from overseas needs permits, and it should comply with the regulations," Lukito noted a written statement received by Antara in Jakarta, on Wednesday. 

She stated that the agency will strengthen partnerships with officials posted in the border areas. The products, Lukito stressed, comprised of medicines worth Rp6.38 billion, food supplements worth Rp53 billion, cosmetics worth Rp78 billion, and raw foods worth Rp9.5 billion.

These imported commodities were distributed from Singapore and Malaysia, as well as Thailand, India, and China. Most of the products were imported through the border gate of Riau Islands or other entry points in West Kalimantan.

During the similar occasion, Lukito noted that the Drug Monitoring Agency has committed to improve its public services, such as increasing the coaching clinic and technical training programs. Moreover, the agency now has adopted the electronic registration QR-Code system to improve transparency, efficiency, and accountability.

For further moves, the agency will boost the capacity of e-registration system, while easing some regulations, in accordance to the President Regulation No.80 Year 2017. Following the report, the chief of Commission IX, Yusuf Macan Effendi, lauded the agency's works and called on the officials to improve their performances.

He noted that the borderline areas should be the agency's top concerns for supervising the distribution of foods and drugs in Indonesia. "We hope 50 BPOM stations will be built this year," Effendi remarked.

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