The arrest of GZ who belongs to the Jakarta-Banjarmasing-Bandung drug ring, and several of his friends at an apartment in Jakarta last January had helped the police nab SUL on Feb 21, the Jakarta Metropolitan Police Spokesman, Sen.Coms.Agro Yuwono said on Wednesday.
From the hands of GZ, the police officers seized 6.5 kilograms of crystal methamphetamie, 40 thousand ecstasy pills and 20 thousand yaba (madness drug) smuggled from Thailand pills packed in shredded catfish bags, Yuwono said.
Meanwhile, from another suspect only identified by his initials, SUL, that the police apprehended from the At Tin Mosque in East Jakarta on Feb 21, the police confiscated 1.9 kg of crystal meth (Sabu-Sabu), he said.
The police investigators continued their probe by coordinating with their colleagues in Pekanbaru city in Riau Province, and Bandung in West Java Province, Yuwono said, adding that the police nabbed NOL, a suspect, in Pekanbaru on March 1.
The police also launched a raid at a hotel in Braga area of Bandung city on March 4. The police investigators nabbed a suspect only identified by his initials RUD. On the same day, the police officers also apprehended RID and OGI.
The police officers seized three cellular phones and a van from RID and OGI's hands while SUL who was grilled by the police investigators confessed that he concealed several thousands of ecstasy pills at a hotel room in Mangga Besar, Jakarta.
According to Argo Yuwono, the police seized a huge amount of crystal meth from the Riau-Jakarta-Bandung drug ring members, including six kilograms from SUL, and seven kilograms from RID, TED, RUD, and HB.
He said several suspects remain fugitive, including HB, YG, TN, and PRES, he said, adding that those suspects are charged with Law No. 35 of 2009 on Narcotics in which they can be sentenced to death, 20 years in prison, or life imprisonment.
On March 1, the Indonesian police had also been able to uncover a Jakarta-Palembang drug ring and confiscated 50 kilograms (kg) of crystal methamphetamine and 65 thousand ecstasy pills from several suspects.
Indonesia is indeed perceived by both local and trans-national drug dealers as their potential market because of its huge population and millions of drug users.
The National Narcotics Agency (BNN) noted that some 50 Indonesians die of illicit drugs every day, while the total number of drug users in the country has reached seven million and the value of the drug trade in the country is estimated to have reached at least Rp66 trillion.
Reporting by Ricky Prayoga, Rahmad Nasution
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Translator: Ricky Prayoga, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Gusti Nur Cahya Aryani
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