Drug Kingpin Ko Erwin Impoverished Through Money Laundering Charges, Wife and Children Implicated

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Indonesian Police (Polri) have confirmed they will maximise the application of money laundering offences (TPPU) in handling drug cases, including the matter involving drug kingpin Erwin Iskandar alias Ko Erwin. This approach is aimed at impoverishing the perpetrators while breaking the chain of illicit narcotics distribution. “The essence is that drug handling is now being elevated more towards TPPU. It’s not just about uncovering the original offence; it’s being developed further to impoverish those involved in drug trafficking,” said Eko at the Bareskrim Polri building in Jakarta on Friday (24/4/2026). In the development of the Ko Erwin case, investigators are still calculating the total assets that have been seized. Several pieces of evidence in the form of houses, shophouses, warehouses, motor vehicles, and documents related to asset ownership have been secured. Eko stated that the complete results of the asset seizure will be announced after the investigation process is complete. “We’ll release the details, more or less, once it’s all finalised on how much TPPU we’ve successfully seized,” he said. This case has also implicated members of Ko Erwin’s family. Investigators arrested his wife and two children, namely Virda Virginia Pahlevi, Hadi Sumarho Iskandar, and Christina Aurelia. The three are suspected of being involved in laundering money from the narcotics business. They arrived at the Bareskrim Polri building in Jakarta on Friday around 5:20 PM WIB after being flown in from West Nusa Tenggara (NTB). Based on observations, they were brought in using one minibus in handcuffed condition and immediately escorted to the examination room without giving any statements. The arrests were carried out by a joint team from Subdit IV and the NIC Task Force of Dittipidnarkoba Bareskrim Polri, led by Kombes Handik Zusen and Kombes Kevin Leleury, on Thursday (23/4/2026).