Indonesia customs investigate Thai man over US$350K undeclared cash

Tangerang, Banten (ANTARA) - Indonesian customs officials are investigating the motive of a Thai national caught attempting to smuggle $350,000 in undeclared cash into the country through Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

The suspect, identified only by his initials RR, was intercepted on Monday at Terminal 2F after arriving on a flight from Thailand.

Custom officers flagged his baggage using risk-based profiling and detected suspicious, dense stacks through an X-ray scan.

A subsequent physical search in a private inspection room uncovered 3,500 bills of $100 denominations, valued at approximately 6.3 billion rupiah.

"The passenger had no permit, nor did he declare the funds to customs officers," Head of Soekarno-Hatta Customs and Excise Hengky Tomuan Parlindungan Aritonang said at a press conference on Friday.

The agency has seized the currency and is working alongside Bank Indonesia and the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK)—the country's financial intelligence unit—to probe potential links to transnational crime or money laundering.

"Because the foreign national’s statements keep changing, we have reported this to PPATK," Aritonang explained. "PPATK will delve deeper into his profile and financial history to see if there are any connections to criminal activity."

Under Indonesian law, individuals carrying cash or payment instruments worth 100 million rupiah or more into or out of the country must declare it to customs.

Additionally, authorities hold strict oversight powers to screen cross-border cash flows against active terrorism financing watchlists.

If the investigation proves the suspect deliberately evaded declaration without a corporate permit, he faces compounding administrative fines under current banking and customs regulations.

The maximum combined penalty of 600 million rupiah will be deducted directly from the seized cash and deposited into the state treasury.

Translator: Azmi Syamsul, Resinta Sulistiyandari

Editor: Aditya Eko Sigit Wicaksono

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