International Writing Competition Victory Leads to Imprisonment for Alfan
An unfortunate fate befell a man named Alfan Harvi Putra (24) after winning an international scientific writing competition. Instead of receiving appreciation, Alfan was imprisoned.
The resident of Pujon Lor Village, Pujon Subdistrict, Malang Regency, had to swallow a bitter pill when tried at the Kepanjen District Court.
The Beginning of Participating in the Scientific Writing Competition
This sad story began when Alfan participated in a writing competition he learned about from a Dark Web account in September 2025, organised by someone named Yudas.
Interested, Alfan then created a scientific article in English with a weighty title: The Use of Microdosing vs Macrodosing Psychedelics.
“The article discussed the benefits of psychedelic substances in the medical world for treating diseases,” Alfan stated before the panel of judges on Wednesday (15/4/2026).
As a result, he emerged as the champion after beating 9 other participants from various parts of the world. The organisers then promised a prize in the form of goods worth 50 Euros or approximately Rp 850,000.
Alfan admitted that he initially refused the prize in the form of goods. He even negotiated with the organisers to have the prize converted to cash via cryptocurrency, as in other competitions he had joined.
“I once asked for it to be sent as money, but it was not allowed,” he said.
Package Contains Narcotics
The prize goods package was still sent to his home address. Later, the organiser informed that the contents of the package were synthetic cathinone.
Because he did not yet know that the item was prohibited, Alfan went to the post office to collect the package on 12 October 2025. He then paid Rp 25,000 for the import administration fee.
However, moments after the package changed hands, officers from the East Java National Narcotics Agency (BNNP), who had been staking out, arrested Alfan.
“I only found out what it was (cathinone) when I was about to pick it up. At that time, I didn’t think to report it; I wanted to keep it first,” Alfan regretted.
Alfan eventually had to deal with the law. He was then handed over to the prosecutor’s office on Friday, 20 February 2026. In the indictment of his trial, Alfan was charged without rights with offering for sale, selling, buying, receiving, acting as an intermediary in buying and selling, exchanging, or handing over class I narcotics in the form of one clip plastic containing class I narcotics of the type 4-Methylmethcathinone.
The articles that ensnared him were Article 114 paragraph 1 of Law No. 35 of 2009 on Narcotics and Article 131 of Law No. 35 of 2009 regarding knowledge of a narcotics criminal act but not reporting it.
Not only that, the prosecutor also charged Alfan with Article 609 paragraph 1A of the New Criminal Code. Alfan’s hobby of participating in writing competitions has now stopped, as he must now become a defendant in court.