The head of Indonesia's criminal investigation unit, Insp. Gen. Asep Safrudin, has rejected reports that two former national police chiefs were arrested in connection with the alleged illegal wiretapping of President Prabowo Subianto. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, 8 November 2026, Asep said the claim was not accurate, according to detikNews. "The information is not true," he said when asked to confirm the reports.
Why it matters
The denial comes as the National Police (Polri) pursue a wiretapping case that has already produced four suspects and drawn attention from political parties. Unverified claims about arrests at the top of the police hierarchy can spread quickly in Indonesia, and a senior officer's public rebuttal is meant to stop them from hardening into accepted fact. The case also touches on how surveillance powers are used and policed, a sensitive subject in a country heading into a busy political calendar.
What police have confirmed about the case
According to detikNews, Polri has named four people as suspects in the alleged illegal interception of communications involving Prabowo and several other parties. The wiretapping is suspected to have taken place from 2025 onward.
The suspects face multiple charges. The first is Article 258 of Law No. 1 of 2023, the Criminal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The second is Article 332 of the Criminal Code, which provides for up to six years. They are also charged under Law No. 11 of 2008 on Electronic Information and Transactions (the ITE Law), which carries a maximum of eight years.
Three of the suspects are currently held at the National Police headquarters detention facility: Listyo Sigit Prabowo (LSP), the police's legal affairs division chief Insp. Gen. Ahrie Sonta (AHN), and Insp. Gen. Eko Hadi Santoso (EH). The reporting does not specify where the fourth suspect is being held.
A claim that travelled faster than the facts
The reports that Asep addressed concerned two former national police chiefs. He did not elaborate on where the claim originated or how widely it had circulated, and detikNews did not say. His statement was brief and limited to denying the arrests.
The distinction matters. Police have confirmed four suspects and three people in custody, but they have not confirmed any detention of former police chiefs. Until an official announcement says otherwise, the arrest claim should be treated as unverified.
The wiretapping allegations have also prompted comment from political figures. PDI-P has said it sees signs that illegal interception has become more widespread since before the 2024 election, according to Kompas.id. NasDem chairman Surya Paloh said he was not worried about being tapped, describing his conversations as small talk, kumparan reported. Neither statement adds evidence to the arrest claim, but together they show the case is being read through a political lens.
What to watch
Police have not indicated whether further suspects will be named or when the investigation will move to the next stage. Watch for formal statements from Polri's public information office and for any court filings that would confirm charges against the four suspects already named.
