Traces of Law Enforcement in the Narcotics Business Cycle
Efforts to eradicate drug trafficking in Indonesia continue to face steep challenges, often caused by the involvement of law enforcement officers themselves. Over the last decade, members of the police, the Indonesian National Armed Forces, and the National Narcotics Agency have been implicated in the circulation and abuse of narcotics. The involvement of these officers, who are supposed to safeguard the nation’s future generations, has varied. It ranges from selling evidence seized from case disclosures, becoming part of drug trafficking syndicates, acting as protectors or guarantors for dealers to continue operating, to being involved as drug addicts themselves.
One unforgettable case is the involvement of former West Sumatra Police Chief Inspector General Teddy Minahasa in 2022. As the highest-ranking official in the region, Teddy ordered the then Bukittinggi Police Chief, AKBP Doddy Prawiranegara, to swap 5 kilograms of seized crystal methamphetamine with alum. Teddy also ordered Doddy to sell the illicit goods and hand over the proceeds. Doddy then personally transported the stolen methamphetamine to sell to a dealer network in Jakarta at a price of up to IDR 300 million per kilogram. The case shocked the public as it occurred just after Teddy had been appointed East Java Police Chief by National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo. The appointment was immediately revoked, and Teddy was sanctioned with a dishonourable discharge. The Supreme Court also rejected Teddy’s appeal, making his life sentence legally binding, while his subordinate Doddy received a 17-year prison sentence.
Beyond the police, there was the involvement of former Makassar Military District Commander, Infantry Colonel Jefri Oktavian Rotty. Jefri, as the district commander, held a drug party with the Head of the Command and Control Centre of the VII/Wirabuana Regional Military Command, Lieutenant Colonel Budi Iman Santoso, at a hotel. During the party, Jefri consumed a new type of illicit substance uncovered by the National Narcotics Agency called ‘blue sapphire’ liquid. The liquid was mixed into alcoholic drinks, giving the drinker effects similar to consuming narcotics. Both soldiers tested positive for drug use through urine tests. Jefri was subsequently dismissed from the military and sentenced to 10 months in prison in December 2016.
The sale of seized evidence was also carried out by three investigators from the Jakarta National Narcotics Agency with the initials S, AM, and MH in 2020. The three sold a total of 6.9 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine stolen from seized evidence repeatedly over 10 occasions between May and August 2019. The methamphetamine was sold for IDR 517.5 million using a down payment system, with the remainder transferred once successfully sold to the buyer. The three Jakarta National Narcotics Agency investigators were sentenced to 14 years in prison in July 2020.
Authority as law enforcement officers is also frequently misused to protect drug syndicates. Instead of taking action, some officers become part of the illicit network. One such case is former South Lampung Police Narcotics Unit Head, AKP Andri Gustami. Andri, who led the narcotics eradication unit, was involved in the international drug lord Fredy Pratama’s syndicate. The Police Criminal Investigation Department had seized a total of 10.2 tons of methamphetamine affiliated with Fredy’s network in Indonesia during the 2020-2023 period. Fredy’s syndicate smuggled methamphetamine and ecstasy into Indonesia in quantities ranging from 100 kg to 500 kg, using the modus operandi of disguising the drugs in tea packaging. Instead of helping to uncover the network, Andri became Fredy’s special courier, facilitating the passage of methamphetamine through the Bakauheni Port in Lampung to Jakarta. Andri carried out this escort operation eight times between May and June 2023. A total of 150 kilograms of methamphetamine and 2,000 ecstasy pills were successfully distributed, with Andri receiving up to IDR 1.3 billion in compensation. For his actions, Andri was given an ethical sanction of a dishonourable discharge and sentenced to death.
A similar act was committed by two Indonesian Army soldiers, Sertu Yalpin Tarzun and Pratu Rian Hermawan, in December 2022. The two were arrested while acting as couriers for 75 kilograms of methamphetamine and 40,000 ecstasy pills in the Deli Serdang area of North Sumatra. They were paid IDR 2 million for each kilogram of drugs successfully delivered. This delivery was their second before being arrested by the Police Criminal Investigation Department. For their actions, Sertu Yalpin Tarzun and Pratu Rian Hermawan were dismissed from the military and sentenced to life imprisonment by the panel of judges.
Most recently, a member of the 031 Military Resort Command, Indragiri Hulu Military District, Serma Yonanda Agusta, was involved in the shipment of 40 kilograms of methamphetamine from Tanjung Balai Port to be taken out of the province. Serma Yonanda also consumed crystal methamphetamine inside the car during the delivery journey. Economic motives were again the reason the soldier agreed to become a drug courier. He was subsequently dismissed from his unit and sentenced to 20 years in prison.