Indonesian Authorities Arrest 285 Drug Smuggling Suspects in Q2 of 2025

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Narcotics Agency (BNN) has arrested hundreds of drug smuggling suspects in Indonesia. BNN Chief Commissioner General Marthinus Hukom said a total of 285 people were arrested from April to June 2025. "Comprises 256 men and 29 women," he said at a press conference on Monday, June 23, 2025.

Out of those arrested, Marthinus said some served as couriers and some as drug dealers. "We didn't just capture small couriers, but also the bigwigs (dealers)," Marthinus said.

According to Marthinus, BNN's operations targeted the entire supply chain systematically. "We are trying to cut off the entire supply chain down to the smallest link," he said.

BNN, to this day, continues to target drug suppliers overseas, as Indonesia is not a country that can produce drugs. "The major operators are usually in Malaysia," Marthinus said.

Previously, Marthinus mentioned a former Indonesian migrant worker (PMI) named Dewi Astutik who is suspected of being the operator of a major drug distribution network in Southeast Asia.

Dewi Astutik is suspected to operate in the Golden Triangle area, known as the center of the Southeast Asian drug ring, which includes the borders of Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos.

From international network analysis, Dewi is an Indonesian citizen involved in an Africa-based drug syndicate. "It is very likely that the people caught in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, were previously part of her syndicate," said Marthinus Hukom at a press conference in Batam on May 28, 2025.

In early 2025, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs mentioned that drug cases were the most common legal issues facing Indonesian citizens abroad. Director of Indonesian Citizen Protection (PWNI) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Judha Nugraha, stated that 157 Indonesian citizens were facing the death penalty abroad as of January 2025. "Most of them are in Malaysia for drug trafficking cases," Judha said when contacted on Tuesday, January 28, 2025.

Hammam Izzuddin contributed to the writing of this article

Editor’s Choice: Indonesian Police Warn of Drug Syndicate Recruitment in Major Cities

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News

Indonesia Falls to 40th in 2025 Competitiveness Ranking, Trails Behind Malaysia

16 jam lalu

Police Arrest Indonesian Workers for Smuggling Crystal Meth from Malaysia

4 hari lalu

Indonesia Tackles Smuggling of 1,950 Sea Turtle Eggs Bound for Malaysia

5 hari lalu

Indonesia Transfers 1,000 Inmates to Nusakambangan Super Maximum-Security Prison

8 hari lalu

100 Handcuffed Drug Convicts Sent to Nusakambangan Prison

9 hari lalu

Indonesian Migrant Worker in Malaysia Found Dead with Stab Wounds

12 hari lalu

153 Indonesians Abroad Involved in Drug Crimes as of June 2025, Says Foreign Ministry

12 hari lalu

Cikarang Police Bust Illegal Drug Sales Disguised as Cellphone Shops

14 hari lalu

Managing Drug-Resistant Cancers: Darwin to the Rescue?

16 hari lalu

BPOM Confirms Illicit "G-Listed" Drugs Not from Legal Sources

19 hari lalu