Jakarta. Indonesian police have named 28 suspects in a large-scale rice adulteration case, following a months-long investigation into fraudulent practices in the country’s food supply chain.

The probe was launched after Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaeman filed a complaint alleging that dozens of rice brands were mislabeling medium- or low-quality rice as premium. Investigators also found evidence that some producers had reduced package contents below the stated net weight.

The National Police formed a special Food Task Force, led by Brigadier General Helfi Assegaf, to pursue the case. “We have 25 cases involving 28 suspects, mostly related to fraudulent rice production,” Helfi said at a public discussion hosted by the Indonesian Ombudsman in Jakarta. “We hope these prosecutions deter other producers from committing similar fraud.”

Police seized mislabeled rice products, some produced as recently as February 2025. Investigators found that many producers skipped laboratory quality checks altogether, instead filling packages labeled as “premium” with any available rice. “They had no testing facilities. The rice went straight to the mills, repackaged as premium, and sold at higher prices. This shouldn’t happen again,” Helfi said.

While rice processing machinery seized during the raids has been returned to allow production to continue, some producers opted to shut down operations altogether due to their lack of testing facilities.

Among the suspects is Karyawan Gunarso, CEO of Food Station Tjipinang Jaya, a Jakarta government-owned food enterprise specializing in packaged staples. The company is under investigation for allegedly distributing standard-quality rice under premium labels.

Preliminary findings also revealed discrepancies between the declared and actual net weight of packages, as well as pricing violations above government-mandated ceilings.

The suspects face charges under Indonesia’s 1999 Consumer Protection Law and the 2010 Anti-Money Laundering Law. If convicted, they could face up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to Rp 10 billion (about $615,000).