"The suspect, only identified as YD, has been charged under Article 112, junto Article 114 of the 2009 Narcotics Law, which carries a maximum punishment of death penalty," the agency`s chief, Brig. Gen. Wahyu Hidayat, stated here on Wednesday.
The 43-year-old suspect, a resident of the West Sumatran city of Bukit Tinggi, was arrested along with his wife while driving a van on Perawang Road KM 70 of Siak District, Riau Province, on July 29, he stated.
"The police investigators have continued to probe the role of his wife, as she confessed about not being aware of the crystal meth being concealed by her husband inside the car he was driving," he remarked, adding that the arrest was made after the suspect was under his agency`s surveillance for three months.
Head of the agency`s prevention and law enforcement unit Ajunct Sen. Coms. Haldun had stated earlier that the suspect was part of a Malaysian drug ring. The crystal meth was smuggled from Malaysia into Indonesia through the Buton seaport in Siak District, Riau Province.
However, the suspect and individual, who would have received the drug package in Pekanbaru, did not belong to the same drug ring, thereby making it difficult for police investigators to trace the suspect, he remarked.
The police investigators revealed that the couple, the residents of West Sumatra Province, had repeatedly been involved in drug trafficking activities in Riau. They had also transported at least two big packages of crystal meth.
"The two packages have been transported to Palembang, the capital city of South Sumatra Province. The first delivery contained one kilogram of sabu-sabu, while the second delivery contained two kilograms of crystal meth," he added.
The suspect confessed that he would have received Rp34 million (US$1=Rp14,390) for delivering the first and second packages of the addictive drugs, and he was promised Rp200 million by the unknown person for transporting the crystal meth.
"The suspect has, so far, received Rp8 million," he added.
Indonesia is indeed facing a serious threat of both drug abuse and illicit trafficking of drugs.
The BNN has recorded that some 50 Indonesians die of illicit drugs every day, while the total number of drug users in the country may have reached seven million.
Hence, crystal meth and other types of illicit drugs have become a serious threat to Indonesia amid fierce competition among nations, considering the value of illicit drug trades in the country.
Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, the former coordinating minister for political, legal, and security affairs, had also forecast that the value of drug trades in Indonesia had reached at least Rp66 trillion, of which 75 percent of the drug trafficking was directed from inside the prison.
In dealing with this problem, the Indonesian police and BNN cannot work alone. Instead, they need the support of both community members in the country and their foreign counterparts.
The United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are aware of the importance of this international cooperation for winning the war on drugs.
Indonesia still applies death penalty to punish drug traffickers. Among the drug convicts that it had executed over the past few years were Ang Kim Soei, a Dutch citizen; Namaona Denis, Malawian; Marco Archer Cardoso Mareira, Brazilian; Daniel Enemua, Nigerian; Andriani alias Melisa Aprilia, Indonesian; Tran Thi Bich Hanh, Vietnamese; as well as Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, Australians.
Capital punishment is maintained in Indonesia`s judicial system, but the deaths of those drug convicts are yet to be able to deter other drug dealers.
Despite the absence of a deterrent effect on drug dealers, this death penalty needs to be maintained, as it appears to be the best option to bring justice to the victims of the crimes, their families, and the nation.
In the Philippines, more than seven thousand alleged drug offenders were put to death due to President Rodrigo Duterte`s war on drugs.
Reported by Anggi Romadhoni
Edited by Rahmad Nasution
Reporter: Antara
Editor: Otniel Tamindael
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
