The suspects, who could be arrested only after the police received tip-offs about their suspicious drug transactions, are currently in police custody for investigation
Denpasar, Bali (ANTARA) - The Bali Police's antidrug squad personnel have apprehended two men who were attempting to trade 33,400 diazepam tablets, popularly known as Pil Koplo, in the resort island.

The suspects, only identified by their initials AMW, 32, and ACN, 32, were nabbed during a raid at their rented room on December 3, 2019, Bali Police Spokesman Sen. Coms. Syamsi said.

The police confiscated 30 plastic bags containing 33,400 tablets of the drug also known as Double LL, investigators speaking to ANTARA in Denpasar Friday, said.

The suspects, who could be arrested only after the police received tip-offs about their suspicious drug transactions, are currently in police custody for investigation, he said.

Both AMW and ACN are residents of Jember city in East Java Province. They are charged under the Indonesian Health Law Number 36/2009, he added.

Indonesia remains under grave threat from drug dealers, as several individuals from its working-age population have been embroiled in a vicious circle.

According to the National Narcotics Agency's report, some 50 drug use-related deaths occur in Indonesia. However, their deaths have failed to deter other drug users in the country from consuming these banned substances.

Users of crystal methamphetamine, narcotics, marijuana, and other addictive drugs transcend communities and 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 drug trade in the country is estimated to reach 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 punitive measures against them.

Earlier, the Indonesian authorities announced that 14 death row prisoners convicted in drug-related cases would face the firing squad.

In July 2016, Indonesia executed four death row inmates for drug trafficking. They were drug kingpin Freddy Budiman of Indonesia, Humprey Ejike and Michael Titus of Nigeria, as well as Seck Osmane, a Nigerian national holding a Senegalese passport.

The convicts were executed by a firing squad at the Tunggal Panaluan shooting range in Nusakambangan Island off Central Javas southern coast at 12:46 a.m. local time on July 29, 2016.

Ten inmates, however, escaped the third wave of executions on July 29, 2016. These were Merry Utami, Pujo Lestari, and Agus Hadi of Indonesia; Zulfiqar Ali of Pakistan; Gurdip Singh of India; Onkonkwo Nonso Kingsley, Obina Nwajagu, Eugene Ape, and Ozias Sibanda and Frederik Luttar of Zimbabwe. (INE)

Translator: Ayu KP, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2019