Marguerite Afra Sapiie, Jakarta – National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian has said the results of an investigation into a video featuring executed drug convict Freddy Budiman found that no police personnel were involved in Freddy's narcotics network, as was claimed in the recording.
"In the video, Freddy never mentioned anything related to drug-related cash flow or any National Police personnel who received it [...] We haven't found any evidence [to support the allegations] so far, either in the video or in his defense notes, as well as in his lawyer's testimony," Tito said during a hearing with the House of Representatives on Monday.
In a statement to rights activist Haris Azhar in 2014, Freddy claimed he had given Rp 90 billion (US$6,848,019) to police personnel as compensation for protecting his drug business. The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) chairman later released the recorded statement on Facebook, one day before Freddy was executed on Nusakambangan prison island on July 29.
Tito admitted that Freddy had mentioned the names of three police personnel in the video. However, after an examination commissioned by a joint fact-finding team, the three were not found to have any links to cash-flow matters, he said.
The police chief added that two personnel mentioned by Freddy in the video had previously apprehended him in an operation. Meanwhile, the third officer had earlier conveyed the government's plan to create a prison island surrounded by crocodiles. Tito did not cite the names of the three police personnel. (ebf)