"We do not target specific people from certain professions," Head of the Jakarta Metropolitan Police's Narcotics Unit Adjunct, Senior Commissioner Jean Calvijn Simantuntak, told journalists here on Monday when questioned about the Nunung Srimulat drug case.
Regarding this case, he said the police's anti-narcotics squad members received tip-offs from the public on the drug ring of Hadi Moheriyanto alias TB, a suspect who allegedly delivered a small pack of crystal methamphetamine to Nunung.
Hadi Mohenriyanto was arrested and his arrest led the police investigators to inspect a house, which was then known to be Nunung Srimulat's house. The police are still on the lookout for another suspect identified as E, he said.
Indonesia's world of entertainment remains vulnerable to drug cases as partly observed from the arrests of Nunung Srimulat and her husband on July 19, 2019.
The police investigators confiscated 0.36 grams of crystal methamphetamine during their raid at Nunung Srimulat's house in the Tebet area of South Jakarta on Friday.
The arrests of Srimulat and her husband for allegedly using drugs have only added to the list of Indonesia's artists who have been nabbed for drug cases.
Indonesia remains under serious threat from drug dealers, as several individuals from its working-age population have been trapped in a vicious circle.
The National Narcotics Agency's (BNN's) report that some 50 Indonesians die of drug use every day has not yet deterred drug users in the country from consuming these banned substances.
Users of crystal methamphetamine, narcotics, marijuana, and other addictive drugs are from across communities and from distinct socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.
Therefore, Indonesia is perceived by both domestic and transnational drug dealers as a potential market due to its huge population and millions of drug users. The value of the drug trade in the country is estimated to have reached nearly Rp66 trillion.
In response to the illicit drugs that drug kingpins have smuggled into and traded in the country over the past few decades, the Indonesian government continues to apply harsh punitive action against them.
Indonesian President, Joko Widodo, had also issued shoot-at-sight orders against drug kingpins.
However, this has failed to deter drug traffickers. They continue to treat Indonesia as one of their main markets even as Indonesian law enforcers keep the fight against them going. EDITED BY INE
Translator: Ricky P, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Eliswan Azly
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
