A total of 72 bags containing marijuana were set ablaze, whereas officers destroyed the crystal meth by blending the stash. At the event, the police also paraded several drug suspects, including Erwin bin Ridwan and Munir bin Zakaria.
Adjunct Commissioner Budi Nasuha Waruwu, spokesman of the Banda Aceh City Police, remarked that Ridwan and Zakaria were detained in February over their role in sending the marijuana packages to a city outside Aceh via a courier service, logistics company, and post office.
In the meantime, the haul of sabu-sabu, or crystal meth, destroyed by the police was retrieved during several raids conducted by law enforcers last February. Of the 889.8 grams of meth, 489.26 grams were confiscated from Hamdy Asan bin Asman.
Asman was taken into police custody along with evidence of his crime at the Sultan Iskandar Muda International Airport shortly before flying for Jakarta on Feb 1. The police also recovered 377.76 grams of methamphetamine from Sukri bin Nurdin during another raid.
Nurdin was arrested at the same airport prior to boarding a flight for Jakarta last February, Waruwu remarked, adding that the rest of the 22.78 grams of the crystal meth had been seized from Muhammad Munir bin Nurdin Abdullah, a Kahju Prison inmate.
The National Narcotics Agency (BNN) in Aceh Tamiang District raided a drug dealer's residence in Masjid Sungai Iyu Village, Bendahara Sub-district, on Tuesday, during which the BNN investigators seized 17 kilograms of crystal meth.
Indonesia has been facing an omnipresent threat from drug smugglers and dealers since decades, as the country, with its high population and millions of narcotics users, is perceived as one of their potential markets in Southeast Asia.
The National Police's mapping revealed that in early January, West Java, North Sumatra, and South Sumatra emerged as the top three provinces recording the maximum number of drug cases.
The police also continue to maintain vigil over marijuana trafficking from Aceh Province to cities in Java Island via Lampung Province and cross-border drug smuggling activities, specifically those from Malaysia into Dumai, Riau Province.
Translator: Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Sri Haryati
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
