Inp.polri.go.id - Jakarta.  The Criminal Investigation Agency of the Indonesian National Police (INP) has exposed a scheme involving the illegal sale of subsidized diesel fuel through the use of fake barcodes and fraudulent recommendation letters.

According to, “The fraudulent activities were discovered in Tuban, East Java, and Karawang, West Java.,” said Brigadier General Nunung Syaifuddin, the Director of the Special Crimes Unit at the INP Criminal Investigation Agency, on Thursday (6/3/2025)

The Tuban suspects used 45 different barcodes to repeatedly purchase subsidized fuel, while the Karawang group obtained barcodes through falsified documents from village government offices, according to antaranews.com.

Authorities arrested eight suspects, who had been operating for up to a year. The subsidized fuel, originally priced at Rp 6,800 per liter, was resold for Rp 8,600, causing an estimated state loss of Rp 4.4 billion. 

The suspects face up to six years in prison and fines of up to IDR 60 billion.

(mg/inp/pr/nm)