Head of inmate security at Indonesian jail accused of taking US$1,000 bribe to help French drug suspect escape
- The police officer is accused of receiving the US$1,000 bribe from a drug suspect’s parents and supplying him with a blanket which he may have used to break out of jail
A police officer in Indonesia has been arrested on suspicion of taking a bribe to help a French drugs suspect break out of jail, said authorities on Friday.
The officer – head of inmate security at the police detention centre on Lombok island – received US$1,000 before Felix Dorfin’s jailbreak nearly two weeks ago, authorities alleged.
The 35-year-old Frenchman was arrested in September allegedly carrying a false-bottomed suitcase filled with 4kg of drugs – including cocaine, ecstasy and amphetamines – at the airport on the holiday island. Dorfin was awaiting trial in a possible death penalty case when he fled.
The accused officer, who was only identified by her initials TM, received a wire transfer of about 14.5 million rupiah (US$1,040) from Dorfin’s parents before the escape, according to authorities.
She used some of the wired funds to buy items for Dorfin including a mobile phone with a SIM card, and also gave him a blanket which he may have used in the escape, said authorities.
“The money was transferred by the suspect’s parents,” West Nusa Tenggara senior police officer Agus Salim told reporters on Thursday.