Senior Police Officer Named Drug Suspect; Experts Say Punishment Should Be Harsher Than for Ordinary Citizens

Jakarta, VIVA – Support continues to pour in for the Indonesian National Police’s (Polri) firm action against members embroiled in narcotics cases.

The latest endorsement comes from Unissula Semarang Professor Henry Indraguna, who considers the measures taken against the former Bima Police Chief, Adjunct Senior Commissioner of Police (AKBP) Didik Putra Kuncoro, to be appropriate and worthy of appreciation.

AKBP Didik Putra Kuncoro has been named a suspect in an alleged drug possession case. The designation has attracted public attention given that the individual in question is a police officer.

Henry stated that the swift action by the police institution demonstrates its commitment to responding to public complaints and upholding institutional dignity.

“The police’s swift response to public complaints regarding the conduct of rogue individuals who commit violations, followed by the institution’s firm action against a member involved in a narcotics criminal offence and his designation as a suspect, is commendable,” he said on Tuesday, 17 February 2026.

According to him, the action is also in line with the provisions of Article 23 Paragraph (7) of the new Criminal Procedure Code, which stipulates that any law enforcement officer who commits a violation may be subject to ethical, administrative, and criminal sanctions.

As an Expert Adviser to the Research and Development Division of the Golkar Party’s Central Executive Board, Professor Henry emphasised that if found guilty, the punishment for the former Bima police chief could be more severe than for ordinary criminal offenders.

“The police must be firm and show zero tolerance towards internal members proven to be involved in drug cases, in connection with the designation of the inactive Bima City Police Chief AKBP Didik Putra Kuncoro as a suspect in alleged drug possession,” he said.

“This is important because, as a member of the police force, one should be a leading example in the eradication of drugs, not be involved in them,” he added.

He argued that as a law enforcement institution entrusted with the mandate to eradicate all forms of criminal offences, including narcotics — which are classified as extraordinary crimes — the police must not tolerate the misuse of narcotics and psychotropic substances, whether by the public or by internal personnel.

“Law enforcers must reaffirm their commitment to taking firm and relentless action. Drug cases involving police members have triggered demands for systemic evaluation and stricter periodic oversight within the institution,” he said.