Police Uncover Fake Cattle Document Syndicate in Gilimanuk, Two Suspects Arrested
Jembrana District Police have arrested two men, identified by initials S (41) and AS (34), suspected of involvement in a syndicate producing fake documents for shipping 25 head of cattle out of Bali.
Jembrana Police Chief AKBP Kadek Citra Dewi Suparwati revealed that the fake document syndicate was uncovered when quarantine officers inspected a truck carrying livestock at Gilimanuk Port. According to her, officers discovered that the truck driver was using a fake Animal Health Certificate (SKH) to cross out of Bali.
“Officers found an SKH document suspected to be fake. Upon verification, the listed sender claimed they had never sent the cattle, and the Quarantine Agency confirmed it had never issued such a document,” Citra stated on Saturday (9/5/2026).
Following a series of investigations, police arrested S and AS on Friday (8/5) night. Based on questioning, Citra said suspect S was responsible for selling the fake documents to livestock shippers, while AS handled the digital editing of the forgeries.
“AS is a former employee of a cattle shipping company. He photographed genuine documents, then edited them using a laptop. He altered vehicle identities, dates, livestock numbers, and even created fake electronic signature barcodes to make them appear official,” Citra explained.
Police seized several pieces of evidence from the two men, including fake SKH sheets destined for Pekanbaru, mobile phones, a laptop, a fake Indonesian Quarantine Agency stamp, Rp26 million in cash, and 151 ear tags or identification labels for livestock ears.
According to Citra, the two suspects sold each fake SKH for Rp1.2 million per head of cattle. For a load of 25 cows, a single inter-island livestock shipment could generate tens of millions of rupiah.
“Based on data from the suspects’ phones, around 15 fake documents have been produced since early May. We suspect this is part of a larger syndicate,” Citra added.
The two suspects now face imprisonment. They are charged under Article 391 paragraphs (1) and/or (2) of Law No. 1 of 2023 on the Criminal Code regarding document forgery. “The maximum penalty is six years in prison,” Citra emphasised.
Gilimanuk Quarantine Veterinary Doctor Putu Agus Kusuma Admaja praised Jembrana Police’s efforts in uncovering the fake document syndicate. He stressed that the 25 cows would be returned to their origin to prevent the spread of Quarantine Animal Disease Pests (HPHK).
“For inter-island livestock shipments, businesses must have an official Veterinary Certificate from the Bali Provincial Food Security Office before processing at quarantine,” Agus concluded.
Previously, Gilimanuk Quarantine officers intercepted a truck carrying 25 cows at Gilimanuk Port on Thursday (7/5). The truck was forced to turn back to a quarantine pen due to suspected fake animal shipment documents.
Quarantine officers initially pursued and chased the truck with licence plate DK 8835 BQ to Gilimanuk Port. The pursuit occurred amid high traffic of cattle shipments out of the area to meet sacrificial animal demand ahead of Idul Adha.
The truck and its 25 cows have been secured and redirected to a quarantine pen for thorough inspection. The truck driver claimed to the officers that he was unaware of the details of the cattle owner being transported.