Reasons for Indonesian Customs to open and inspect travelers' luggage

Officials of the General Administration of Customs (GAC) have repeatedly inspected the suitcases of travelers arriving from overseas, and a number of cases have quickly gone viral and come to the forefront of public attention.The Director of User Communication and Guidance of the Customs and Excise Department explains that the Customs and Excise Department is tasked with enforcing regulations delegated by other ministries/agencies, such as baggage regulations for baggage originating from foreign countries, which require that travelers' suitcases be inspected. Why do travelers open their suitcases?This is Minister of Trade Regulation No. 36, which states that a person returning from abroad with articles (e.g. shoes) can only bring two pairs of new shoes. He gave an example of a person who had just returned from Europe and was found to be carrying certain items controlled by the regulation. In such a case, Customs would need to check the contents of the suitcase to ensure that the number of items carried did not violate the regulations.

For example, when a traveler comes back from Europe and his bag or suitcase shows five pairs of shoes on the X-ray machine, how can the Customs know that only two pairs are new? All the customs officers can do is to open the luggage to ensure that only 2 pairs are new. He then explained the limited prohibition rules (lartas) for some goods. According to him, there are some goods that can only be imported with permission from the relevant authorities. Can morphine, bombs, and weapons be imported? Yes, but only with the permission of the relevant authorities such as the Ministry of Health. Bombs are allowed to be imported and can be used in mining activities and the license is provided by the police department. Weapons are also allowed to be imported with a license from the police department.