Jakarta. Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo was on a European trip when the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) searched his official residence in Jakarta on Friday. As of Tuesday, he had not returned to Jakarta.

His deputy, Harvick Hasnul Qolbi, said that Syahrul was still in Spain, but there has been no communication from the minister.

"In the meantime, we are still trying to locate the minister because we haven't heard from him today," Harvick told reporters at the State Palace in Jakarta.

According to Harvick, Syahrul was accompanied by several staff members who have now returned to Jakarta.

Harvick dismissed allegations that Syahrul might have attempted to flee the ongoing graft investigation, which has not identified any suspects.

"The flight tickets were not booked for the same day, so the team couldn't arrive together. The minister will return," he assured.

Before traveling to Spain, Syahrul and his team visited Rome.

During the search on Friday, the KPK discovered 12 firearms and banknotes worth approximately Rp 30 billion ($1.9 million) at Syahrul's official residence.

The commission alleged bribery scandals related to job promotions at the Agriculture Ministry and fraudulent projects involving private vendors. However, no further details have been disclosed.

Syahrul has been frequently traveling overseas in recent months. The former South Sulawesi governor missed a KPK summons for an interrogation in mid-June due to his visit to India, although he later honored the summons later that month.

At that time, he mentioned plans to travel to China and South Korea to "strengthen cooperation in agricultural modernization and facilitate export markets for Indonesian agricultural products."

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