JAKARTA: Indonesian President Joko Widodo, has ordered an investigation into allegations of police involvement in drug trafficking.
Claims that military and police officers took bribes from a drug lord have stoked huge controversy in Indonesia, where the government has declared a war on narcotics and last month executed four convicted traffickers.
One of the executed drug traffickers Freddy Budiman confessed to Haris Azhar, a prominent human rights activist, in 2014 that he had given police, military and customs officials millions of dollars in bribes to protect his drug business. Widodo criticized Azhar for revealing the allegations years after they were made, but has instructed the national police chief to investigate.
In a statement issued recently, Widodo confirmed the need for an investigation into the accuracy of the allegations.