Minister Of Agriculture Appreciates Riau Police For Dismantling Oplosan Rice Practices In Pekanbaru

JAKARTA - Minister of Agriculture (Mentan) Andi Amran Sulaiman appreciated the success of the Riau Police in uncovering the case of mixing rice on Jalan Sail, Rejosari Village, Tenayan Raya District, Pekanbaru City.

During the raid, the police confiscated approximately 9 tons of evidence of mixed rice of various brands from the hands of a local businessman with the initials R who has now been named a suspect.

The suspect's mode was mixing low-quality rice with reject rice, then packing it into a 5 kg SPHP labelled sack.

The packaging seems to show that the rice is subsidized by the Bulog SPHP, even though the contents in it are far below the quality standards. As a result, people have to pay much more expensive, even the price difference can reach Rp. 5,000 to Rp. 9,000 per kilogram, depending on the type and packaging.

"I really appreciate the fast work of the Riau Police. This disclosure shows a real commitment to protecting the public from food fraud, according to the direction we discussed," said the Minister of Agriculture in Jakarta, Sunday, July 27, quoted by Antara.

For information, the Minister of Agriculture just completed his working visit to Pekanbaru on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. In a meeting with the Riau Police Chief Inspector General Herry Heryyawan, the Minister of Agriculture highlighted strategic issues of food security, including allegations of fraudulent practices in rice distribution.

A day later, the Riau Police immediately carried out a raid and named a suspect.

The Minister of Agriculture emphasized that this kind of mixing practice damages the national food distribution system and is a form of betrayal of the people.

The SPHP program is a national strategic program subsidized by the state to ensure the availability of quality rice at affordable prices.

The practice of mixing is betrayal of people's trust. The SPHP program is supported by subsidies from people's money to help people's purchasing power and maintain inflation. I am proud that the Riau Police moved quickly after our discussion," he said.

He also said that the central government together with the National Police Headquarters Food Task Force would continue to strengthen supervision of rice distribution, including cracking down on similar practices that allegedly occurred in a number of areas.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture's records, previously 212 problematic rice brands were found in 10 provinces with a potential loss of IDR 99.35 trillion per year.

Riau Police Chief Inspector General Herry Heryyawan emphasized that the disclosure of this case was a tangible form of the implementation of the direction of the National Police Chief, General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, to ensure consumer security and create security and security stability.

"The direction of the National Police Chief is how we are present in the community and provide a sense of security through efforts to create a good security and security situation," he said.

Meanwhile, the Director of Criminal Investigation at the Riau Police, Kombes Ade Kuncoro, revealed that in addition to repackaging the mixed rice into Bulog's SPHP sacks, the perpetrators also bought cheap rice from Pelalawan and repackaged it in premium branded sacks such as Aira, Family, Red Dara Children, and Kusiak Kusuik to deceive consumers.

The evidence confiscated included 79 sacks of adulterated SPHP rice, 4 sacks of premium branded rice containing low rice, 18 empty sacks of SPHP, digital scales, sewing machines, and sewing threads.

The suspect was charged with Article 62 paragraph (1) in conjunction with Article 8 paragraph (1) letters e and f, as well as Article 9 paragraph (1) letters d and h of Law Number 8 of 1999 concerning Consumer Protection.

"With a penalty of 5 years in prison and a maximum fine of Rp. 2 billion," concluded Kombes Ade.