SURABAYA - The Special Criminal Investigation Directorate (Ditreskrimsus) of the East Java Regional Police has dismantled the circulation of fake rice for the Food Supply and Price Stabilization (SPHP) program in Probolinggo Regency by confiscating 400 bags of five kilograms.
Deputy Director of the Criminal Investigation Unit of the East Java Police, AKBP Henri Noveri Santoso, said that this disclosure was part of the prosecution of criminal offenses in the field of food and consumer protection.
"This case is in the form of packaging plain rice into SPHP packaging labeled 5 kilograms, but in fact the gross weight including packaging is only 4.9 kilograms," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, April 15.
The incident occurred on April 6, 2026 in Krajan Village, Kalirejo Village, Probolinggo Regency. The police have arrested one suspect with the initials RMF who is suspected to be the main perpetrator.
Head of Subdirectorate I Industry and Trade (Kasubdit I Indagsi) of the East Java Police Criminal Investigation Unit, AKBP Farris Nur Sanjaya revealed the modus operandi of the perpetrators by buying low-quality bulk rice from a number of stores, then repackaging it using SPHP rice sacks.
"The rice used is far below the medium standard. Visually, the breakage rate reaches around 80 percent, even though the standard for medium rice is a maximum of 25 percent," he said.
In addition, the perpetrator also reduced the contents of rice in a five-kilogram package to about 4.9 kilograms to reap more profits, with a profit of around Rp3,000 per package.
In his operation, the suspect has been running this illegal business for about two years by selling based on customer orders through an online system.
"In one week, the perpetrator can process about 2 tons of rice or the equivalent of 200 packages. The estimated turnover reaches tens of millions of rupiah per month," added Farris.
The highest demand occurs before Eid al-Fitr because customers buy rice for zakat fitrah needs.
For his actions, the suspect was charged with Article 144 of Law Number 18 of 2012 concerning Food regarding the provision of incorrect labels and Article 62 of Law Number 8 of 1999 concerning Consumer Protection with a threat of imprisonment of up to five years.
Meanwhile, the Regional Head of Perum Bulog East Java Regional Office Langgeng Wisnu Adinugroho confirmed that the rice in the case did not come from Bulog.
"SPHP rice is medium rice with certain standards and is only distributed through official channels. This case is a form of abuse that harms the community," he said.
He appealed to the public to be more careful when buying packaged rice and report if they find indications of cheating in the market.
"Because the original has an expiration date and a distribution permit, but the perpetrator is currently very clever in making it very similar to the original," he said.
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