Just four days into his tenure as the East Java chief of police, Inspector General Teddy Minahasa Putra has been arrested on drug charges, according to a member of parliament.
On Oct. 10, Teddy replaced Inspector General Nico Afinto, who was removed as East Java’s top cop last week following the Kanjuruhan Stadium tragedy, during which 132 people were killed.
Teddy was conspicuously missing during today’s meeting between President Joko Widodo and senior members of the National Police. Rumors that he had been arrested by Internal Affairs was confirmed by Ahmad Sahroni, who is deputy chair of Commission III at the House of Parliament (DPR), which oversees matters related to law enforcement.
“It’s true. Drugs, if I’m not mistaken,” Ahmad told reporters today.
Before he took on his latest role, Teddy was the North Sumatra chief of police. He was known as the richest provincial police chief in the country, having reported a personal wealth of IDR25 billion (US$1.6 million) to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in March of this year.
National Police Chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo is scheduled to hold a press conference later this afternoon to talk about Teddy’s case.
Teddy is the second Indonesian police general to be arrested this year. In August, former Internal Affairs Chief Inspector General Ferdy Sambo was arrested for the murder of his subordinate and bodyguard, Brigadier Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat. Ferdy may face the death penalty for premeditated murder.
