Police investigate police in Batam

National Police have deployed a profession and ethics (Propam) team to Batam to investigate the alleged involvement of police officers in issuing illegal luxury car permits.

“The team left today. They will look into the illegal issuance of vehicle documents,” National Police chief detective Comr. Gen. Ito Sumardi said Friday in Jakarta.

Ito said the team would thoroughly question police in Batam, from field officers to the traffic police director.

A recent police search from Sept. 23 to 26 for illegal luxury cars, which saw 104 cars confiscated, drew criticism that the police were not serious about opposing car smuggling, and that the raids were heavy-handed.

The illegal cars were produced after 2003, when the local government issued a decree on value added and luxury taxes that bans the import of used cars to Batam after 2004.

The registrations of the confiscated cars said the vehicles were made in 2003, but they had actually been produced after 2005, the police said.