The Slipperiness of Andre “The Doctor”: He Briefly Escaped Capture in Kuala Lumpur
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Drug lord Andre Fernando Tjhandra, alias The Doctor, briefly escaped capture in Kuala Lumpur before being arrested in Penang, Malaysia, on Sunday (5/4/2026).
Secretary of the Indonesian NCB Interpol at Polri’s International Relations Division, Brigadier General of Police Untung Widyatmoko, even described The Doctor as quite slippery in evading police pursuit.
“The subject is quite slippery and managed to escape capture attempts in Kuala Lumpur, before we finally cornered and arrested him in Penang,” Untung said in a press release quoted by Kompas.com on Tuesday (7/4/2026).
“There is no safe space for narcotics syndicates, wherever they hide,” Untung emphasised.
According to the press release, The Doctor was designated as the main fugitive after investigators from Polri’s Bareskrim dismantled a narcotics distribution network involving former Bima City Police Chief AKBP Didik Putra Kuncoro and Bima City Police Narcotics Unit Head AKP Maulangi.
The case stemmed from the development of investigations into AKP Maulangi and AKBP Didik Putra Kuncoro, who are suspected of receiving protection fund flows amounting to Rp 2.8 billion from syndicate member Erwin bin Iskandar, alias Koko Erwin.
From the arrest of his underlings, Charles Bernando and Arfan Yulius Lauw, police confirmed that the real identity of “The Doctor” is Andre Fernando Tjhandra.
In this syndicate, The Doctor served as the main controller who orchestrated international-scale narcotics distribution.
He distributed various types of narcotics, from methamphetamine, happy water, to vape liquid containing etomidate branded as Ferrari and Lamborghini.
The suspects’ modus operandi was neatly organised, smuggling vapes from Malaysia via sea routes to Dumai, Riau.
Meanwhile, for methamphetamine, the suspects used land and cargo routes by hiding it inside dolls wrapped in gift boxes to deceive officers.
The Doctor is a drug supplier who once helped drug lord Erwin bin Iskandar, alias Koko Erwin, escape by crossing to Malaysia via waterways before being captured by police.
Meanwhile, Koko Erwin is a drug lord and the payer of Rp 2.8 billion to the former Bima City Police Chief, AKBP Didik Putra Kuncoro.
“It is true that on Sunday, 5 April 2026, the wanted person named Andre Fernando alias Charlie alias The Doctor was successfully arrested in Penang, Malaysia,” said Director of Narcotics Crimes at Bareskrim Polri, Brigadier General of Police Eko Hadi Santoso, in his statement on Monday (6/4/2026).
For his role as a drug lord and syndicate controller, the suspect is charged with multiple articles, namely Article 114 paragraph (2), Article 132 paragraph (1), and Article 112 paragraph (2) of Law Number 35 of 2009 on Narcotics, with a maximum penalty of the death sentence.