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The National Police on Monday prevented their controversial former chief of detectives, Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji, from leaving for Singapore, apprehending him as he was waiting to board his plane at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

“I was to leave Jakarta for one night only, for a medical check-up, but internal police investigators prevented me from leaving,” Susno told the Jakarta Globe via SMS as he was being taken from the airport to the National Police’s internal affairs office.

“They arrested me without any warrant letter and it is still unclear who gave the order to arrest me,” he wrote. “They will jail me for breach of professional conduct and not for a criminal matter.”

However, the National Police’s head of internal affairs, Comr. Gen. Nanan Soekarna, later told the Globe that Susno had not been arrested.

“What he did was categorized only as a disciplinary violation; he was going overseas without obtaining permission from the police chief first,” Nanan said. “We cannot make an arrest. We will bring him before an internal affairs tribunal, which will decide on this matter.”

Nanan said police regulations required all senior officers to secure authorization before leaving the country.

“As an organization there are rules, law and order,” said Chief Comr. Budi Waseso, an internal affairs investigator. “No matter whether it is a low-ranking police officer or a high-ranking police officer, they should obey them or face the consequences.”

A smiling Susno was released after about eight hours at the internal affairs office, but he made no statement.

Police have said that since Susno was removed from his post as chief of detectives in November, he has allegedly been absent without notice for 78 days. For that offense, he could face dismissal from the police force.

Coverage by Metro TV news crews at Soekarno-Hatta showed four internal affairs officers cornering Susno as he came out of the bathroom at one of the airport’s boarding lounges.

The footage also showed Susno arguing with investigators and then, at one point, trying to push through an officer who was blocking his way.

Earlier on Monday, Susno met with the Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force to discuss allegations that case brokers were operating inside the National Police headquarters.

Susno has tried to rebuild his tarnished image after being removed as chief of detectives last year over his alleged involvement in an attempt to frame two antigraft commissioners on charges of extortion.

He has accused several high-ranking police officers of taking bribes from a tax official currently facing charges of money laundering and corruption. Despite having Rp 28 billion ($3.1 million)in his bank accounts, Gayus Tambunan, managed to get his accounts unfrozen and was acquitted of embezzlement by the Tangerang District Court on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence.

Police, who had earlier denied Susno’s accusations, later conceded that they had found some irregularities in the way Gayus’s case was handled. As a result, a police general has been removed from his post at the helm of the Lampung Police, and two investigators from the economic crimes division have been arrested.

On Thursday, Susno made more allegations, telling the House of Representatives’ Commission III, which oversees legal affairs, that a now retired police general, identified as MP, had been working alongside a civilian case broker operating at the National Police headquarters.

The commission’s chairman, Benny K Harman, said Susno should not have been arrested for a mere disciplinary breach. “It somehow gives the impression that the arrest was arbitrary, a way for top police officials to silence Susno so he can’t give more evidence on case brokers,” said Benny, a member of the Democratic Party.