BNN Arrests Asian Network Drug Lords In The Philippines

Head of the BNN Public Relations and Protocol Bureau Brigadier General Sulistyo Pudjo Hartono/ANTARA

JAKARTA - The National Narcotics Agency (BNN) together with the National Police arrested an Asian network drug kingpin named Johann Gregor in Cebu, Philippines.

Head of the BNN Public Relations and Protocol Bureau Brigadier General Sulistyo Pudjo Hartono said the arrest began with information obtained from law enforcement officers in Indonesia regarding the narcotics trafficking case that occurred on December 5, 2023, on evidence of methamphetamine.

"One of the perpetrators turned out to be abroad, therefore we asked the Police for help, in this case the International Relations Division (Divhubinter) to submit a red notice to Interpol," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, May 16.

The identity of the perpetrator is known to be Johann Gregor, an Australian citizen, whose address is Gili Trawangan, North Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara.

The arrests of perpetrators involve domestic officers, namely the National Police, the Directorate General of Immigration, and the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, and also cooperate with the Philippine law enforcement authorities.

"After good coordination, Alhamdulillah, the person concerned can be secured on May 15, 2024 in Cebu, Philippines," he said.

Currently, he said, the perpetrators are still being held in Cebu and will soon be picked up for further action.

"We will immediately pick up to account for the actions and reveal the network in Indonesia and other places because the person concerned is an Australian citizen and also moves a lot, not only in Indonesia, but also yesterday in the Philippines and others," he said.

Regarding when the perpetrators will be brought to Indonesia, Pudjo said, his party was still unable to answer further because it was still in the coordination stage.

"The process for this is being coordinated between the leadership of BNN and related officials, namely from the Philippine law enforcement apparatus and the Indonesian Embassy in the Philippines," he said.

He also could not reveal what evidence was secured. He said that currently the evidence is still in the process of being investigated by law enforcement officers in the Philippines.

On Wednesday (15/5), the Head of the National Police's Hubinter Division, Inspector General Krishna Murti, on his social media uploaded a video of Johann Gregor's arrest in Cebu. The perpetrator was seen wearing a white shirt and short jeans when he was arrested from the car.

In another upload, Johan's other passport photo was also uploaded which was recorded under a different name, namely Fernando Tremendo Chimenea.