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TNI, Police jointly investigate 'black dollars' worth $69,000
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Gen. Moeldoko. JP/Ricky Yudhistira
The Indonesian military (TNI) handed over to the National Police on Friday hundreds of 'black dollar' bank notes purportedly worth US$69,000.
The military said the stash of cash was seized from a military personnel currently detained by the Navy Military Police (POMAL) for drug possession.
'Black dollar' is a term used to refer to a scam that involves bank notes that purportedly require additional chemicals to clean the bills of black dye. A careful inspection is necessary to find out if the banknote are original or counterfeit.
Other than seizing the black dollars, POMAL also arrested two civilian suspects, who were later handed over to the police, and confiscated various drugs.
'We arrested a naval office ranked as a major. He was found to be a drug user and from our investigations we found several pieces of evidence, including the black dollars worth $69,000,' Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Moeldoko told reporters at the POMAL headquarters in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta.
Moeldoko said POMAL arrested the naval officer, identified as Said Joko Utomo, who later confessed that he kept black dollar bills worth $69,000 from an individual named I Made Gede, who was a courier of Ketut Srianing.
'The black dollars were found during a raid at Maj. Said Joko Utomo's house,' Moeldoko said, adding that I Made Gede and Ketut Srianing were arrested in Jakarta and Bali, respectively.
TNI has yet to confirm whether Maj. Said and the two civilians were part of a drug network or group of cash counterfeiters.
'We are still investigating this case. We just gave the evidence to the police,' Moeldoko said.
The National Police said it would launch an investigation into the discovery of the black dollars.
'The police will check the evidence and see if the black dollars are related to a drug syndicate,' said deputy police chief Comr. Gen. Badrodin Haiti.
Badrodin joined a ceremony to receive the evidence from the TNI chief at POMAL headquarter in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, on Friday.
Badrodin said the police would launch an investigation into the case because two of the suspects were civilians.
'If it was only the military officers who were involved in drug case, the military police would investigate it. However, civilians are involved in what could be a money counterfeiting case, so the police could legally launch a probe as well,' Badrodin said.
Moeldoko said that he would not give leniency toward military members involved in drugs cases.
'TNI will not tolerate its personnel becoming involved in drugs. This is a serious violation and they will definitely be dismissed,' Moeldoko said.
The number of military personnel caught using drugs has been on the rise. Based on TNI data, there were 161 drug cases in 2012, and the number increased to 235 in 2013.
