The King of Bangka Tin 'Kambuhan' who was Re-Detained by the Police

Agat House in Parittiga District, West Bangka Regency. (Special)

JAKARTA - The name of Agustino alias Agat is again in the spotlight in the whirlpool of the illegal tin trade case that shook Bangka Belitung. The figure known as a big financier, collector, and owner of CV Mentari Bangka Sukses - a company that used to be an official partner of PT Timah Tbk - was successfully secured by the Tri Cakti Task Force in conjunction with the Tipidter Team of the National Police Headquarters at his residence in Parittiga District, West Bangka Regency.

This arrest is not a new event for Agat. This name has long been listed in the wanted list of law enforcement, but has always escaped the criminal trap. This time, law enforcement is being tested again: will Agat really be a suspect, or will it end up like the previous cases that hang and then disappear without a trace.

Criminal Traces Revealed from "Children of the Country"

Based on the data collected, the arrest of Agat on Monday, March 2, 2026, began from the results of the development of the investigation against a tin collector who was first secured by the police. During the examination, the collector admitted that he had obtained business capital and also acted as Agat's henchman. From this confession, it was revealed that a large flow of tin sand was sucked from the mining business area (IUP) owned by PT Timah in the Tempilang area.

"Tin sand from the Ponton Isap Production (PIP) mining should be deposited at the weighing post of the company's official partner. But in reality, it is channeled into the dark path, controlled by an illegal network coordinated by Agat," said a source in the investigative environment on Tuesday, March 3, 2026.

A day before Agat was taken to the Babel Police Headquarters, precisely on March 1, 2026, the police had raided the business location in Tempilang, known as the Meja Goyang. The location is said to be a center for the transaction and arrangement of tin supplies, which are fully controlled by Agat. This is where the illegal tin sand flow from the PT Timah concession area is regulated and channeled to buyers without going through official procedures.

Long Trail of Cases and Searches by the Attorney General's Office

Before being secured last March, Agat's legal trail had actually been sniffed out much earlier. On September 30, 2025, the Attorney General's Office's Special Crimes Prosecutor (Jampidsus) had searched and sealed his luxury home and a number of warehouses for storing and processing tin at Parittiga.

"True, that night the Agat house and warehouse were searched by the Kejagung team. The private house was sealed, the warehouse was also inspected, but at that time no tin stock was found there," said a local resident who asked not to be named to VOI, Saturday, May 9.

The search was part of the handling of the mega case of the tin trade period 2015-2022 which is estimated to have caused the country losses of up to IDR 300 trillion. The assets that were sealed were allegedly built from the profits of tin business that have been running for years outside the rules.

This is not the first time that Agat has been dragged into a legal problem. Since last 2021, this name has been named a suspect in a case of alleged corruption in the purchase of tin ore mixed with slag waste at the Baturusa Warehouse, with a state loss of up to Rp. 50 billion.

At that time, Agat was thrown into prison with PT Timah officials and an intermediary director, but the Pangkalpinang Tipikor court sentenced him to be free. The judge reasoned that PT Timah had the status of a public company, so it was no longer categorized as a purely State-Owned Enterprise.

The cassation effort filed by the High Prosecutor's Office also failed. The Supreme Court in June 2022 only sentenced the appointed Agat puppet director to five years in prison, while Agat was again free and moved freely to control the tin supply chain from miners to processing plants. The legal ruling at that time received sharp criticism from the public because it was considered to have let the main actors off.