Hotman Paris about ABK Carrying 2 Tons of Opium: How Can He Be Charged with the Death Penalty Without Evidence?

JAKARTA - Famous lawyer Hotman Paris Hutapea questioned the basis for the death penalty demand against the Batam-based crew member (ABK), Fandi Ramadhan, regarding the case of smuggling 2 tons of methamphetamine.

Hotman considered the strange accusation because Fandi had just worked as a ship crew in Thailand.

This was conveyed by Hotman during a public hearing (RDPU) of Commission III of the DPR with the family of ABK Batam, Fandi Ramadhan at the DPRR building, Senayan, Thursday, February 26.

Hotman initially explained Fandi's process of applying to an agent until he later left for Thailand after being accepted for work.

However, upon arriving in Thailand, Fandi stayed at a hotel for 10 days with the captain of the ship whom he had just met.

"The essence of the case is that the child's mother, coincidentally, is a D4 ship education, so that's her profession, a D4 university graduate in the field of machinery. She applied to an agency, she applied officially to an agency and was finally accepted. This agent said that later the captain would be this one, but this child's child never met the captain, never met and did not know. Only then did they leave because they said, this is a ship in Thailand. Pandi went to the captain's house on May 1, that's the first time he met the captain, escorted by this mother. In front of the house, drugs, off to Thailand and because the ship is not ready, 10 days are spent in a hotel." said Hotman.

"Start the boat, they entered the boat on the 14th. According to the contract, the boat should be called Nonstar. Suddenly, it was taken by a speedboat, taken to the Sea Dragon boat. So the application is different from the boat," he continued.

Hotman explained that Fandi was ordered by the captain of the ship to put 67 boxes that were said to contain gold and money from the fishing boat into the Sea Dragon ship. Unfortunately, the ship, which was supposed to go to the Philippines, was stopped by the National Narcotics Agency and Customs in Indonesian waters.

"It's just a date, they left, they took this Pandi to the middle of the sea, got on this boat, then mutar-mutar-mutar-mutar, 3 days later, that is, on May 18, the fishing boat came, the fishing boat that unloaded 67 cartons. Because there were not many people, the captain ordered all the crew of the ship to enter the relay. And this mother's child came and went, 'What is this?' And it was admitted by the captain. It just so happens that the captain is also a Batak from the Siregar clan, the deputy captain is also a Batak from the Tampubolon clan. The captain admitted that it was money and gold, it was his confession," explained Hotman.

"This ship should have departed from Thailand to the Philippines, but passed through Indonesian waters at Tanjung Karimun, caught by BNN and Customs. That's where the grief began, and at the trial the captain also admitted that the child asked many times, 'What is this?'," he added.

Hotman was surprised, Fandi was charged with the death penalty while he himself did not know his mistake. In fact, Fandi always asked what was in the dozens of boxes. In addition, there is no evidence that Fandi was involved or knew about the origin of the 2 tons of methamphetamine.

"The problem is, how can he be charged with the death penalty because there is no evidence at all that he knew what was in it. He just applied, he just boarded the ship as an unemployed person for 3 days. This is what needs to be asked later by Commission III to its investigators and prosecutors," said Hotman.

Hotman asked that this case be tried transparently, including investigating the intellectual actors behind it. He assessed that the court should further question the ship captain instead of imposing the death penalty on the ABK who had only worked for a few days.

"If a ship captain goes to Thailand for 2 tons of drugs that are said to cost Rp4 trillion, maybe the drug owner doesn't know this captain? Maybe he doesn't entrust Rp4 trillion to someone he just met? That's what we say logically there is none, but suddenly he is charged now with the death penalty," said Hotman.

"That is the essence of the case, just as there is no evidence at all that Pandi knows because he only works on the ship and has only been on the ship for 3 days," he added.

For information, the story of Fandi Ramadhan's case began with the arrest of MT Sea Dragon Tarawa on May 21, 2025 by a joint team of the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), and the Indonesian Navy. Officers stopped the ship while passing through Karimun waters, Riau Islands.

During the examination, officers found 67 cartons containing packages of methamphetamine packaged in Chinese tea packaging. The series of operations is considered one of the largest cases of narcotics smuggling ever revealed in Indonesia. The narcotics are suspected of originating from the international Golden Triangle network, which operates in Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos.

In addition to Fandi Ramadhan, five other crew members were also secured, including Hasiholan Samosir, Leo Chandra Samosir, Richard Halomoan Tambunan, and two Thai nationals, Teerapong Lekpradub and Weerapat Phongwan. Two of them are Thai foreigners.

In his journey, after being handed over to the Prosecutor's Office and the judicial process had taken place and entered the reading of the indictment on February 5, 2025. The Public Prosecutor (JPU), said Fandi and his colleagues had known the elements of the plan to smuggle methamphetamine from the beginning. The trial facts state that Fandi received a payment of Rp. 8.2 million before the ship departed.

The prosecutor assessed that Fandi was aware that the goods he helped transport were narcotics outside the provisions of the law and were included in the international narcotics network. The prosecutor charged him with the charge of Article 114 paragraph (2) in conjunction with Article 132 paragraph (1) of the Narcotics Law Number 35 of 2009, which carries a death penalty