Another issue that has put the country’s prison crisis into the spotlight is special cells for convicts allegedly willing to pay hefty sums to enjoy comfort behind bars.

The National Narcotics Agency (BNN) recently discovered a special cell in Cipinang penitentiary occupied by Haryanto Chandra, a drug convict serving 14 years’ imprisonment. Haryanto is reportedly linked to the late Freddy Budiman, a notorious drug kingpin. Freddy was one of four death-row convicts executed at the high-security Nusakambangan prison island in Cilacap, Central Java, last year.

The BNN officers’ crackdown on prison cells at the Cipinang Penitentiary on May 31 as part of an investigation into the laundering of Rp 39 billion (US$ 2.9 million) in drug money.

In the raid, the officers found that Haryanto lived in an officelike room with air conditioning, wifi and closed-circuit television (CCTV). Five mobile phones, a laptop and an iPad were also seized in the room.

“These items are forbidden to prisoners inside their cells,” Jakarta Immigration Department head Endang Sudirman said in a press conference on Wednesday.

He also said that the ministry had immediately launched an investigation of prison guards and prisoners to check if other similar cases had happened.

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