West Nusa Tenggara Police Investigate Identity of Drug Trafficking Suspect Who Allegedly Paid Rp1.8 Billion Bribe to Senior Police Officer

Mataram — The West Nusa Tenggara Regional Police are tracing the true identity of a suspected drug trafficker with initials B, alias Boy, who was identified through the National Police Headquarters’ investigation as having paid Rp1.8 billion in bribes to AKBP Didik Putra Kuncoro.

“We are still conducting in-depth investigation, still in pursuit. We cannot be hasty; we do not yet know precisely whether Boy is a real name or an alias,” said West Nusa Tenggara Regional Police Chief Inspector General Edy Murbowo in Mataram on Friday.

In the investigation into the suspected trafficker B, alias Boy, the regional police chief acknowledged that his department is conducting a joint investigation with the Criminal Investigation Directorate of the Indonesian National Police, which first disclosed the initials.

“To ensure we do not make an arrest mistake, because in that world (drug trafficking) there are many aliases. This is still under investigation,” he said.

The initials B, alias Boy, emerged publicly from a statement made by the Director of Drug Crime at the Criminal Investigation Directorate, Brigadier General Eko Hadi Santoso, in Jakarta on Thursday (19 February).

He stated that AKBP Didik Putra Kuncoro received a total of Rp2.8 billion in bribes from two suspected drug traffickers. In addition to Rp1 billion from Koko Erwin, AKBP Didik was also said to have earlier received Rp1.8 billion from a suspect with initials B, alias Boy.

Furthermore, two individuals who are wanted by the Criminal Investigation Directorate with initials S and A, subordinates of Koko Erwin, remain the subject of field operations, according to the regional police chief.

The Drug Crime Directorate of the Criminal Investigation Directorate previously confirmed that a joint team from Subdirectorate IV and the Narcotics Integrated Command Task Force apprehended suspected drug trafficker Koko Erwin in Tanjung Balai, North Sumatra, whilst he was attempting to cross into Malaysia on Thursday (26 February).

Koko Erwin was apprehended together with two individuals with initials A, alias Y, and R, alias K, from different locations. Suspect A, alias Y, was arrested in Riau, whilst R, alias K, was arrested in Tanjung Balai alongside Koko Erwin.

They allegedly assisted Koko Erwin in fleeing to Malaysia to evade arrest by police officers.