Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA News)- Riau Police arrested a man identified by his initial as JE in Jangkang village, Bantan sub-district, Bengkalis District, Riau Province, for possession of 40 kg of methamphetamine and 160 thousand ecstasy pills produced in China but smuggled into Indonesia from Malaysia.

Earlier, on Saturday at 2:30 a.m. local time, the Riau polices narcotic unit detained two drug couriers - ZF and AC, Inspector General Zulkarnain, police chief of Riau Province, told the press on Sunday.

The police seized 20 kg of meth and 150 thousand ecstasy pills when arresting ZF, while AC had 20 kg of meth and 10 thousand ecstasy pills.

They were nabbed in separate locations in Siak District, Riau. And their captures has led to the arrest of JE, who possessed the meth and ecstasy pills and had allegedly smuggled illicit drugs from Malaysia into Indonesia for six or seven times.

However, the police believed that JE was not the top boss as he had a superior believed to have controlled drug trafficking from a Jakarta prison.

On March 1, the National Narcotic Agency (BNN) had shot dead a drug trafficker known by his initials as RIZ in Medan, North Sumatra Province.

The agency also seized 48.16 kilograms of methamphetamine from China and later smuggled from Penang, Malaysia, into Aceh, and later Medan.

During the operation, the agency also seized 3,702 ecstasy pills and 454 happy five pills, as well as arrested 33-year-old Mul on the Medan-Binjai Street, North Sumatra.

On March 20, 2017, BNN officer also shot dead a drug smuggler identified by his initial as AP in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, which shares border with Malaysia.

"During an arrest attempt, one of the suspects tried to flee, so he was shot by an officer in the Sungai Raya area, Kubu Raya, Pontianak," Inspector General Arman Depari, deputy chairman of the BNN, stated in Jakarta on March 21.

The agency arrested four suspects, including one, who was killed, for smuggling several kilograms of methamphetamine from Malaysia.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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