"Aldi is our prime suspect," Jakarta Metropolitan Police spokesman Senior Commissioner Argo Yuwono informed journalists here on Wednesday.
The suspect might have slipped from the 10th floor while hiding in the apartment's balcony in his efforts to escape from the police raid, he noted, adding that he was staying with a woman named Bela Ainun when the police had attempted to apprehend him.
The police investigators confiscated 100 grams of crystal methamphetamine, packed in four plastic bags, and 1.5 kilograms of marijuana, packed in 11 bags.
Ainun informed the police investigators that the drug belonged to Aldi, Yuwono noted.
Indonesia remains under serious threat from drug dealers, as several individuals from its working-age population have been trapped in a vicious circle.
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The National Narcotics Agency's (BNN's) report of some 50 Indonesians dying daily of drug use had not deterred drug users in the country from consuming these banned substances.
Users of crystal methamphetamine, narcotics, marijuana, and other addictive drugs come from across communities and distinct socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.
Hence, 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 drug trade in the country is estimated to have reached nearly Rp66 trillion.
In the drug trade, drug rings not only recruit adults but also teenagers as their couriers as was unearthed by South Kalimantan Police's Anti-Drug Department in July.
According to the South Kalimantan Police's anti-drug squad member, Adjunct Senior Commissioner Sigit Kumoro, a local drug ring had used a 15-year-old teenager as a courier following the arrest of a suspect only identified by his initials RD.
"The suspect is 15 years old. He was arrested along with another suspect, MP, 39, while selling 5.1 grams of crystal methamphetamine," he stated recently.
Kumoro expressed major concern over RD's case, as the suspect was likely recruited by drug dealers as a courier after becoming a regular drug user. By working as a drug courier, he could obtain the drug to meet his demand.
In saving Indonesia's children and teenagers from being trapped by drug dealers, they have to be educated on the dangers of drugs to raise their understanding and awareness, he added.
EDITED BY INE
Related news: Maximum drug users in Indonesia from West Java
Related news: Narcotics agency destroys meth smuggled from Malaysia
Translator: Taufik Ridwan, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
