Police deny harboring fugitive Susno

The National Police have denied the allegation that they are protecting graft convict Comr. Gen. (ret) Susno Duadji by giving him a safe haven in a police facility in Soreang, Bandung, West Java.

'€œThe National Police are strongly committed to supporting the AGO'€™s [Attorney General'€™s Office] effort [to arrest Susno],'€ National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said in Jakarta on Thursday, as quoted by Antara news agency.

Media reports said that Susno, a former National Police detectives'€™ chief, sought refuge at the police'€™s security intelligence training center in Soreang.

An AGO official who wished to remain anonymous said the location was discovered after the police tracked signals from Susno'€™s cellphone.

The National Police were blasted for their efforts to thwart prosecutors'€™ attempts to arrest Susno at his residence in Cimenyan, Bandung, last week.

Prosecutors expected to bring Susno to jail to serve his three-and-a-half year prison sentence. Susno was proven guilty of general election security funds misappropriation while he was West Java Police chief and guilty of accepting bribes during the investigation of the PT Salmah Arowana Lestari (SAL) investment scam.

West Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Tubagus Anis Angka Wijaya ordered his officers to take Susno to the West Java Police headquarters in Bandung.

The AGO lost track of Susno shortly after.

The force'€™s Internal Affairs Division (Propam), which was ordered to find a breach of ethics in the arrest attempt, appeared to show leniency to Tubagus.

'€œ[Propam] is still looking into the case. But clearly, we don'€™t see any indication that [Tubagus] tried to derail the arrest attempt,'€ Boy said.

Tubagus had been tipped to succeed National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is expected to have Timur replaced this August.

Another National Police spokesman, Sr. Comr. Agus Rianto, was quick to defend the action of West Java Police.

Agus said that when Susno stayed inside the police headquarters, deputy chief of the West
Java Police Brig. Gen. Rycko Amelza Dahniel managed to persuade Susno to surrender himself to the AGO.

'€œAfter discussing with the West Java Police deputy chief, Susno claimed he was ready to be taken. The deputy chief has notified this to the AGO,'€ he said on Wednesday.

Agus claimed that the prosecutors did not immediately make the arrest on Wednesday considering that it was late at night.