Acehs Police Head of Public Relations Senior Commissioner Goenawan remarked on Tuesday that the team arrested three suspects -- 40-year-old Benu or Awi, 37-year-old M. Saleh, and 38-year-old Jeunieb -- during the seizure.
"The three suspects were caught at the Sasa Nam Restaurant, Peuntet, Lhokseumawe, on Monday at around 6:30 p.m. local time," he revealed.
The meth and ecstasy pills were smuggled from Malaysia into Indonesia through the waters of Aceh.
The operation was conducted based on Interpol information that a major drug consignment would be smuggled into Aceh, after which the team split to conduct patrolling around the waters of Idi Rayeuk and Peureula in eastern Aceh, while land patrolling was conducted from Lhokseumawe to Kuala Langsa in western Aceh.
Thereafter, at around 2:20 p.m. local time, the water patrol team tried to stop a suspicious boat, but when it reached the shore, its two crew members abandoned the boat and fled.
The officers searched the boat and found seven large bags, with 133 kilograms of meth wrapped in plastic.
The team also found 42,500 ecstasy pills wrapped in ten plastic bags. The pills were blue in color and bore the YL code, while the pink ones had the Hello Kitty code.
Meanwhile, the land patrol team chased the two suspects until around 4:30 p.m. local time when they were located in Binjei, east Aceh.
The suspects were then taken to Lhokseumawe aboard a public bus, which the officers trailed along the way to Punteut, Lhokseumawe, in northern Aceh.
At 6 p.m. local time, the two suspects met Benu or Awi, who allegedly was the kingpin of the smugglers, at the Sasa Nam Restaurant in Punteut. Shortly thereafter, the officers raided and arrested them.
Senior Commissioner Goenawan remarked that until now, the three suspects had admitted to committing the crime during an initial investigation. They confessed to have sailed aboard a boat from the Krueng Geukeuh Dock, Lhokseumawe, to the Malaysian waters to take the narcotics.
They then returned to Aceh and planned to dock at the Peureulak shore in East Aceh, where their boat was seized by the officers.
Currently, the suspects have been held at the Kuala Langsa police station where the pieces of evidence, including the boat they had used, are also in custody, according to Goenawan. (*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2017
