Illegal Motorcycle Warehouse in South Jakarta Has Operated Since 2022 Without RW Permit

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - A warehouse storing illegal motorcycles on Jalan Kemandoran VIII, Grogol Utara, Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta, has been known to have been operating since 2022 without ever obtaining environmental permits from the local neighbourhood authorities.

The chairman of RW 03 Grogol Utara, Nasrullah, said that his office has never received any application for a referral letter or any form of permit related to the warehouse’s operations since it began operating about four years ago.

“Indeed, no permits have been issued (by the RW), because no referrals have ever been recorded from here,” Nasrullah told Kompas.com at the location on Tuesday (12/5/2026).

In the records, no application for operational permits for the motorcycle warehouse at that location was found.

He admitted that he only learned the true function of the building after the police raid case became widely reported in the media and discussed on social media.

“That’s why I was shocked. The owner never asked me for permission,” said Nasrullah.

Neither residents nor local authorities ever suspected that the location was being used to store motorcycles from criminal activities.

“I thought it was just a storage warehouse for motorcycles to be distributed to showrooms,” he said.

Several nearby residents also claimed they were unaware of the illegal activities inside the warehouse.

Santi (not her real name), one of the residents, said the building has always appeared like an ordinary warehouse with unremarkable activities.

Meanwhile, another resident, Nurdin (not his real name), mentioned that activities at the location were more often seen at night, especially when large containers arrived for loading and unloading.

“Usually, it’s only at night that two or three containers arrive,” said Nurdin.