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mother in Gorontalo city has filed a report with the Gorontalo chapter of the Ombudsman over mistreatment allegedly committed by the Gorontalo Provincial Narcotics Agency (BNP) against her two sons.

Nurhayati said the incident took place on July 19, when her second son was hanging out with his friends in Andalas, Gorontalo city. She said her son was taken to the BNP office and was forced to reveal the whereabouts of his older brother, a suspected drug courier.

During the interrogation, added Nurhayati, her son was held at gunpoint and even beaten.

The boy'€™s information lead to the arrest of his older brother in the Molibagu area of South Bolaang Mongondow regency in North Sulawesi, on July 20.

'€œThe moment he was caught, my [elder] son was tortured. He was beaten until he was black and blue and his fingers and head were hit with sticks. This continued until he arrived at the BNP office,'€ Nurhayati said recently.

She added the BNP had only issued an arrest warrant on July 26, six days after her son'€™s was apprehended.

Nurhayati, who runs a grocery shop, said she had also received threats from BNP members after she had said she would seek justice.

'€œThey said my son'€™s life was in their hands and warned me to never mess with them,'€ she said.

Her younger son was released on July 21. Meanwhile, his older brother remained in the custody of the Gorontalo Police after being detained at the BNP for almost a week.

Ombudsman Gorantalo chapter head Alim Niode confirmed the complaint. He said an arrest, without notifying the family, was an act of maltreatment, especially if was followed by physical abuse and one of the victims was underage.

The ombudsman has also sent a letter to the BNP asking for clarification on Aug. 18, which was also forwarded to the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) headquarters in Jakarta.

On Sept. 11, a team from the BNN arrived in Gorontalo to conduct a closed-door examination of Gorontalo BNP members.

Gorontalo BNP head Hamdan Dumbi denied the mistreatment allegations and accused the family of giving false information.

'€œDuring [the older brother'€™s] detention at the BNP, I saw him every day and he was fine,'€ Hamdan said.

He said the older brother had been a target of the BNP for a long period.

He was believed to be dealing crystal methamphetamine.

During the detention period in the BNP, he said, the older brother had refused to inform the BNP of where he had stashed the drugs, but it was revealed afterward that BNP officers applied a '€œspecial method'€ to obtain the information.

Hamdan said the method had not involved assault.