Pokémon Cards Trigger Soekarno-Hatta Airport Investigation
A routine flight home turned into a stressful ordeal for a 28-year-old mom at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta Airport. The passenger, known by her initials JES, was stopped by customs officers after flying in from Guangzhou, China, with a suitcase packed full of Pokémon cards, toys, and stickers.
The situation quickly went viral online after reports revealed the woman broke down in tears during a long and intense questioning session by airport staff.
Why Did Customs Stop Her?
According to a statement posted on Instagram by airport customs, the woman’s luggage raised red flags during a standard X-ray scan.
While the mom explained that the Pokémon items were just gifts for her child, officers suspected she might be running an illegal shopping service (often called jastip in Indonesia) to resell the goods.
Under Indonesian law, travelers do not have to pay tax on personal items worth up to $500. However, this tax-free rule does not apply if you are bringing in items to sell for profit.
Customs officers doubted her story for a few reasons:
Frequent Flying:
Her travel history showed she made a lot of quick trips abroad in a short amount of time.
The Value of Pokémon Cards:
Officials pointed out that Pokémon cards can be worth a fortune. While regular cards are cheap, rare collector cards can sell for anywhere from Rp 100,000 to a massive Rp 1.5 billion (around $85,300).
Officers even checked her social media accounts to see if she was selling things online.
How Was It Resolved?
Thankfully, the story has a happy ending. The passenger was able to show official store receipts for everything in her bag, proving she bought them legally for herself.
"After checking the data, officers agreed that the items were personal belongings. Because of this, she did not have to pay import taxes and was allowed to go home," customs officials stated.
Airport Denies Bullying the Passenger
Responding to angry comments online about the woman crying, airport authorities denied that their staff bullied or intimidated her.
They insisted that officers followed the rules and treated the passenger with respect and professionalism the entire time.
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