Police arrest nine suspects in attack on officers in Katingan

The Indonesian National Police (Polri) have arrested nine suspects in connection with a drug case and the murder of three members of the Katingan Police Narcotics Unit during a raid in Tumbang Kalemei village, Central Kalimantan. The arrests were made in a joint operation conducted from Friday (3/7) to Wednesday (8/7) across six different locations in Central and East Kalimantan. The operation involved the Central Kalimantan Police’s Narcotics and General Crime Directorates, the Katingan Police, Sub-Directorate IV of the Criminal Investigation Agency’s Narcotics Directorate, the NIC Task Force, the East Kalimantan Police, and the Samarinda Police. The nine suspects were identified by their initials as SD alias AT, DN alias DEA, IMP alias RB, NM, ARS alias YD, ML, BO, RL, BS, and PR. According to Brigadier General Eko Hadi Santoso, Director of Narcotics Crime at the Criminal Investigation Agency, the suspects had various roles. SD carried a homemade firearm and shot at officers while provoking residents. ARS alias YD also provoked residents and attacked an officer with a machete. LLP carried a machete and a homemade firearm and shot at officers. BO, a drug dealer, attacked and assaulted officers with a homemade firearm and a machete, and also provoked residents. RL, a methamphetamine dealer, provoked residents, carried a homemade firearm, and opened fire. PI carried a homemade firearm and a traditional machete and shot at officers. Police have also named three fugitives who are now on the wanted list: PA alias DY, who carried a meat cleaver and a homemade firearm, stabbed a police officer, and helped dispose of the victims’ bodies in a river; DR alias IYS, who carried a spear and stabbed a victim near the river; and IL, who carried a homemade firearm and participated in chasing and attacking the narcotics officers. The incident occurred during a drug raid in Tumbang Kalemei village in the early hours of Thursday (2/7). The situation escalated when family members of the suspected dealer allegedly resisted arrest using sharp weapons, prompting other residents to join the attack. The three fallen officers were Ipda (posthumous) Sumariyanto, Aiptu (posthumous) Yudhi Perdana Putra, and Briptu (posthumous) Nopandri Ramadhan.