DPR: Join Operations On The Right Steps Of The National Police To Dismantle Money Laundering Of IDR 2.1 T Of Drug Cases Controlled By Prisoners

Photo by Dino Januarsa on Unsplash

JAKARTA - The Indonesian House of Representatives positively welcomes the disclosure of the alleged money laundering crime (TPPU) resulting from illicit drug trafficking worth IDR 2.1 trillion which is controlled by inmates from behind bars. One of these successes is considered thanks to the joint operation of the National Police with various institutions/agencies so that major drug cases were successfully uncovered.

"Joining operations carried out by the National Police is the right step in disclosing drug money laundering cases with large evidence. This joint operation is very effective in overcoming organized crimes such as the circulation of international network drugs," said Member of Commission III of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Gilang Dhielafararez, Friday (20/9/2024).

As is known, the TPPU case was revealed thanks to the cooperation between the National Police and the Directorate General of Corrections (Ditjen PAS) of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Customs, National Narcotics Agency (BNN), and PPATK. From the results of the joint operation, the National Police arrested 8 suspects.

The money laundering with a total accumulation of IDR 2.1 trillion was obtained from the circulation of drugs controlled by HS, a convict of a drug case in Tarakan Prison who was sentenced to death. HS's sentence was played off to 14 years after he filed an appeal. The big drug dealer was arrested in 2020.

During its operation from 2017 to 2023, HS has entered tons of methamphetamine-type drugs into Indonesia obtained from Malaysia. In its action, HS was assisted by 8 people who acted as managers of the proceeds of crime to help launder money from drug sales. Some of this illicit money is used to buy assets.

Gilang said that the disclosure of the money laundering case showed that drug trafficking in Indonesia was still very worrying.

"This case has opened our eyes again that drug trafficking can still be controlled from within correctional institutions. This is a serious problem that must be overcome by law enforcement," he said.

Gilang also praised cross-sectoral cooperation so that he succeeded in uncovering major cases such as drug trafficking and money laundering offenses controlled from behind bars. According to him, collaboration and synergy between good agencies are the keys in eradicating organized crime.

"In addition, in this case, it involves not only dealers in the field but also dealers who are in prison to complicated financial networks," said Gilang.

"We must ensure that synergy efforts do not stop here, but continue to be strengthened in the future," added the legislator from the Central Java II electoral district.

As is known, this case was revealed starting from information from the Directorate General of PAS who was suspicious of HS so that he reported it to the Criminal Investigation Unit of the Police. Bareskrim then conducted an investigation in collaboration with the Directorate General of PAS and a number of other relevant agencies, including PPATK.

From the results of the investigation, the National Police found that even though they were in the bui, HS was still controlling the circulation of narcotics in the central part of Indonesia, such as North Kalimantan, East and South Kalimantan, and Sulawesi, and others. According to the results of the PPATK analysis, the circulation of money from the HS group during its operation of buying and selling drugs reached Rp 2.1 trillion.

Gilang also believes that the case of drug control from within the prison is not only this. He also supports the police to dig up more information from the suspects so that they can reveal other criminal cases that are controlled from prison.