Batam Drug Lord Arrested in Malaysia: Here's What to Know

August 21, 2026 | 09:46 am

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian authorities has arrested the drug lord and manager of Batam club Basri Lewaimang, in collaboration with Interpol. 

"The individual was observed in Johor Baru, Malaysia. He was apprehended around 12:30 a.m. Malaysian time," said Police Commissioner Drago, a police official from the Drug Crime Directorate of Polri's Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim), on Thursday, August 20, 2026.

Basri's whereabouts were known from travel data, as he was known to cross the country on a ferry on August 11, 2026, at around 04:43 p.m. local time.

During the arrest, authorities seized two communication devices, and a sum of Indonesian Rupiah, Singapore dollars, and Malaysian Ringgit. In addition, there were three sets of record notes suspected of being related to narcotics.

"From the testimony of the suspect and witnesses we have probed, it is suspected that Basri, as the coordinator at the night entertainment venue, was involved in distributing narcotics at P1, P2, and P3," said Drago.

Basri was declared a fugitive earlier. Director of Drug Crime Directorate at Bareskrim, Brigadier General Eko Hadi Santoso, explained that Basri, as the manager of HH Club Planet, also acted as a drug trafficker who provided various types of narcotics. The illicit goods were distributed at the night club.

Bareskrim suspected at least 40,000 tablets of ecstasy were distributed in the nightclub a month, with more expected when visitors are at maximum capacity.

Bareskrim also detailed a list of assets allegedly owned by Basri, consisting of movable and immovable assets. The movable assets include a Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, an Xpander Cross, a Brown-colored Rubicon, a Daihatsu Rocky, a black Hummer H2, a Honda Mobilio, a black Jeep Wrangler, two black Fortuners, an Innova Venturer, a black Hummer H3, a Toyota Land Cruiser, a white Azimut 68S yacht, and a white-colored yacht.

Meanwhile, the immovable assets include two houses in the Royal Grande Housing Complex Blocks A-02 and A-03, two houses in Royal Bay Sunrise 3 No. 5, a house in Royal Bay Moonlight 5 No. 20, two houses in Diamond Palace Residence Block B37A, two houses in Citra Housing Blocks C124 and D78, a house in Orchard Suite Housing Block H3 No. 3, three shop houses in Botania II Blocks B19 No. 9, 10, and 11, four Pollux Habibie Meisterstadt apartments, a building of Teluk Lengung Restaurant, Punggur, a house in Kotamas Marina C10-01 Housing, and a house in Danau Indah Punggur, Gang Akasia 2.

"Further measures will be taken regarding money laundering offenses associated with narcotics offenses committed by the suspect Basri," said Eko.

Police previously unveiled a drug trafficking case at HH Club Planet 3.0 Pub & KTV, Batam City, Riau Islands, in the early hours of Monday, August 10, 2026. The operation resulted in 32 arrests and narcotics evidence seized from the site.

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