Four Illegal Traffic Attendants Caught in Sting Operation for Running Unauthorised Parking Racket at Blok M Square

Four illegal traffic attendants in the Blok M Square area, Kebayoran Baru, have been subjected to enforcement action by the South Jakarta Transportation Agency. They were detained for allegedly carrying out parking activities without a permit. “There are four people suspected of being illegal traffic attendants that we have detained,” said Head of the South Jakarta Transportation Sub-agency, Bernad Octavianus Pasaribu, as reported by Antara on Tuesday (9/6/2026). In the sting operation, the four individuals suspected of working as illegal attendants were detained from the Blok M Square area. They were taken using a Social Agency operational vehicle to the South Jakarta Mayor’s office for registration and further examination. Based on the results of an initial examination, Bernad stated that the four individuals were not under the coordination of a specific group or attendant coordinator. They confessed to carrying out activities as illegal traffic attendants on their own personal initiative. “I interviewed them directly earlier, it seems they took the initiative themselves to become illegal traffic attendants. So they are not coordinated attendants,” he said. They exploited opportunities from vehicles needing parking spaces and received money from motorists using their services. Nevertheless, such actions are still considered a violation of applicable regulations. “Because they see an opportunity to park vehicles, someone gives them money and they accept it. But that is still a violation of the Public Order Bylaw,” he said. The issue had previously gone viral on social media when visitors to Blok M Square argued over parking because empty slots were being ‘guarded’ by illegal attendants. According to Bernad, economic factors were the main reason the four detained individuals carried out illegal parking practices. Meanwhile, Head of the Social Protection, Security, and Rehabilitation Section of the South Jakarta Social Sub-agency, Yan Vetansyah, stated that his party registered the four individuals caught in the operation. In addition to registration, the Social Sub-agency provided guidance and persuasive appeals so that they would not resume their prohibited activities in public spaces. Yan added that the detained traffic attendants were also required to make a stamped declaration letter as a form of commitment not to repeat their actions. “After we registered them and they made statements, we sent the four traffic attendants home,” he said.