Illegal Motorcycle Warehouse in South Jakarta Camouflaged as Ordinary Storage, Locals Even Once Left Vehicles There

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The illegal motorcycle storage warehouse on Jalan Kemandoran VIII, Grogol Utara, Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta, has apparently been camouflaged as an ordinary warehouse all this time, thus not arousing suspicion among surrounding residents. In fact, one resident admitted to having left their motorbike at the location during a holiday trip because they considered the place safe like any other regular warehouse. “It’s just normal, right? Covered like this, that’s what a warehouse is. I even left my motorbike there when I went home for the holidays,” said Santi (not her real name) when met by Kompas.com at the location on Tuesday (12/5/2026). They often claim that the motorbikes stored in the warehouse come from the factory and are to be sold abroad. “According to the people there, those (motorbikes) are from the factory, to be sold overseas,” she said. A similar impression was felt by another resident, Nurdin (not his real name). He stated that during nearly four years of operation, activities at the location did appear secretive, but never raised serious suspicion. According to him, large container vehicles often arrive just before dawn to transport the motorbikes. Their large size has even several times required the closure of nearby road access during the loading and unloading process. “Sometimes the road is closed briefly because the container is big. The roof also often gets caught on wires,” said Nurdin. Nevertheless, surrounding residents considered the activities normal because the location is indeed known as a warehouse. From those conversations, the workers claimed not to know that the motorbikes they were handling were suspected to be the proceeds of crime.