Legal Developments Yesterday: Grenades Discovered and Pig Butchering Syndicate Arrested

Various legal incidents occurred on Monday (1 June), ranging from the discovery of a hand grenade in Papua to the arrest of an “pig butchering” syndicate in Central Java, with a total of 39 suspects involved.

The Gegana Brimob bomb disposal team from Papua Regional Police, whilst conducting examinations at the site of a World War II-era bomb explosion in Biak on Monday afternoon (1 June), discovered one active hand grenade of the pineapple grenade type. Biak Numfor Regional Police Chief AKBP Ari Trestiawan stated that the grenade was found at the scene, and at approximately 18:00 WIT it was immediately destroyed.

The Central Java Regional Police designated 11 foreign nationals as suspects in an organised online fraud syndicate operating under the romance and investment scam method known as “pig butchering” in Sukoharjo Regency, which targeted American citizens. According to Cybercrime Investigation Director of Central Java Regional Police Kombes Pol. Himawan Sutanto Saragih, the total number of suspects reached 39 individuals, comprising seven Nepalese nationals, four Myanmar nationals, and the remainder Indonesian citizens.

The KPK (Corruption Eradication Commission) scheduled the questioning of two members of the House of Representatives who are also suspects in an alleged corruption case involving the distribution of corporate social responsibility and environmental funds from Bank Indonesia (BI) and the Financial Services Authority (OJK), namely Heri Gunawan (HG) and Satori (S). KPK Deputy for Prosecution and Execution Asep Guntur Rahayu indicated that the questioning and enforcement measures would likely take place shortly.

The Papua Regional Police sent a bomb disposal team to investigate the explosion of a World War II-era bomb in Biak. The 16-member bomb disposal unit, led by AKP Hanasbey, was deployed to Biak on Monday (1 June).

The KPK also scheduled the detention of two suspects in an alleged hajj quota corruption case in the near future. The two suspects are Ismail Adham, who previously served as Operational Director of Maktour, and Asrul Aziz Taba, the former Chairman of the Association of Hajj and Umrah Travel Services of the Republic of Indonesia (Kesthuri).