Chilli mafia hunted by Bank Indonesia

Key for inflation: A vendor counting rupiah notes at a stall selling chilies inside the Wonosari Market in Yogyakarta, Java. Chiliis a key marker for food inflation as it’s in everything from the ubiquitous instant-noodle dinners to saucers of sambal paste at restaurants, and in the street food of the sidewalks of every town. – Bloomberg

JAKARTA: They’re called the chilli mafia – a shady group of wholesalers who manipulate the price of Indonesia’s favourite spice – and the nation’s central bankers are out to smash them.

The fact that Bank Indonesia has joined the police on the front line of fighting crime is an indication of how the archipelago nation’s economy functions, and sometimes doesn’t.