JAKARTA, LITERASIHUKUM.COM — The Criminal Investigation Agency of the Indonesian National Police proposes that the Bill on Narcotics and Psychotropics include stricter regulations regarding the confiscation of assets derived from narcotics crimes. This proposal was conveyed by the Director of Narcotics Crime at the Criminal Investigation Agency of the Indonesian National Police, Police Brigadier General Eko Hadi Santoso in a joint hearing Commission III of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia on Tuesday (7/4/2026). According to the Indonesian National Police, the circulation of money from narcotics crimes not only harms the public but also has serious implications for state finances.

Eko explained that the flow of funds from narcotics crimes often crosses national borders, so handling it is not always simple. If the proceeds of crime are abroad, Indonesian authorities must pursue international cooperation because they are constrained by jurisdiction. Conversely, if the assets and money from criminal acts are within the country, law enforcement officials can directly carry out confiscation and seizure. Therefore, the Indonesian National Police believes that legal instruments to cut off the funding flow of narcotics networks must be strengthened in the new law.

The Indonesian National Police Encourages the Narcotics Bill to be Synchronized with the AML Regime

In its presentation, the Indonesian National Police emphasized that assets from narcotics crimes can be followed up through the anti-money laundering (AML) regime. However, according to Eko, these regulations need to be normalized more explicitly in the Bill on Narcotics and Psychotropics, so that officers have a stronger and clearer basis when tracing, confiscating, and seizing money from narcotics crimes. With this approach, the state is expected not only to arrest perpetrators, but also to cut off the source of financing for narcotics networks.

The Indonesian National Police also proposed that money and assets successfully confiscated from narcotics crimes can later be used to support the program Prevention, Eradication, Abuse, and Illicit Trafficking of Narcotics (P4GN). This idea shows that the Indonesian National Police not only sees asset forfeiture as an instrument of punishment, but also as a resource to strengthen state policy in the war against narcotics.

The Indonesian National Police's Input Becomes Part of the Bill Refinement

The proposal regarding asset forfeiture is one of a number of inputs from the Indonesian National Police in the discussion of the Bill. At the same forum, the Indonesian National Police also proposed the regulation of thresholds for narcotics possession to more clearly distinguish between users or victims of abuse and distributors or cartels. This indicates that the Indonesian National Police wants the Narcotics and Psychotropics Bill to not only be repressive towards illicit trafficking networks, but also more precise in distinguishing between categories of perpetrators.

At the legislative level, discussions on the Narcotics and Psychotropics Bill are indeed moving forward as part of the 2026 priority agenda. The DPR's Legislation Body previously stated National Legislation Program of Priority Bills 2026 contains 64 Bills, and Baleg also affirmed that this year's legislative agenda is directed to be more responsive to national legal needs and public input. In that context, input from the Indonesian National Police and the National Narcotics Board becomes important to form a regulatory design that is more adaptive to the evolving modes of narcotics crime.

Thus, the Indonesian National Police's proposal shows a clear direction: narcotics eradication is no longer sufficient to only rely on arresting perpetrators and confiscating evidence, but must also target the financial arteries of the criminal network. If this idea is included in the final draft of the Bill, the new regulation has the potential to provide greater space for the state to cripple the narcotics business from an economic perspective, not just from a conventional criminal perspective.