Riau Police Confiscates IDR 15 Billion In Assets From Cross-State Drug Dealers, Disguised Through Fisheries Business

Press conference at the Riau Police Headquarters, Tuesday (11/10/2025). BETWEEN/HO-Polda Riau

RIAU - The Riau Police's Narcotics Investigation Directorate confiscated cash and assets worth around Rp. 15.26 billion which allegedly came from money laundering (TPPU) networks of cross-border narcotics dealers.

The Director of Drug Research at the Riau Police, Kombes Putu Yudha Prawira, explained that the results of the financial search showed that the perpetrators disguised the proceeds of the crime as if they came from fishing businesses.

"The purpose of the perpetrators is to make money from narcotics look like legal income from fisheries businesses," he said at a press conference in Pekanbaru, Antara, Tuesday, November 11.

Investigators confiscated Rp11.34 billion in cash, three plots of land, two-story shophouses, and one ship. The total value of the confiscated assets is estimated to still increase because the investigation process has not been completed.

This case began with a raid on H alias Asen's house in Bangko, Rokan Hilir, on June 22, 2025. From that location, the police found 40.5 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, 57 pills of ecstasy, 220 happy five pills, as well as a number of aids such as digital scales and plastic press machines.

From the results of the examination, H admitted that he obtained the illicit goods from MR alias Abeng, a large dealer who had fled to Malaysia.

After cross-border coordination, the authorities managed to arrest Abeng on Jalan Perniagaan, Rokan Hilir, on October 30, 2025, when he returned to Indonesia.

'Abeng is not new. He was prosecuted in 2013, released in 2019, and continues to run his illicit business even from inside the prison," said Putu Yudha.

From the development of the case, investigators found that Abeng used his wife's account, Sulastri (S), to accommodate and manage money from drug transactions. The funds were then used to buy various high-value assets, including six hectares of land containing oil palm plantations, two-story shophouses in Panikahan, fishing vessels, two luxury cars, and a number of securities.

Investigators are now investigating the alleged involvement of other parties and the origin of additional assets that are suspected to be still hidden outside the Riau area.