"The inmate's involvement in the drug case was uncovered after the two female couriers got arrested while trying to smuggle crystal meth packages via the Entikong area of Sanggau District on Monday," Sen.Coms. Gembong Yudha stated on Tuesday.
Speaking to journalists, Yudha, director of the West Kalimantan Police's Drug Investigation Division, said the two apprehended couriers were identified by their initials as TS and EK. During the raid, police also seized two packages containing 500 grams of crystal meth from them.
The arrests were made on the Malenggang-Balai Karangan road section of Sekayam Subdistrict, Sanggau District by a team comprising members of the Entikong police and the Customs and Excise Office of the Indonesia-Malaysia border crossing checkpoint, he added.
Police made the arrests after receiving a tip on May 7, 2020 that there would be an attempt to smuggle a crystal meth package from the Malaysia-Indonesia border crossing area of Entikong, he revealed.
The two couriers smuggled the drugs into Indonesia using shortcuts near the Entikong border crossing area, Yudha informed journalists, adding that TS told investigators that she had received the order to smuggle the drugs from her ex-husband, who is currently jailed at the Pontianak Prison.
TS told police her ex-husband ordered her to take the drug packages to an unknown person in the Balai Karangan area. Based on her confession, the police are probing the inmate's alleged involvement in the drug case, he added.
Indonesia remains under grave threat from drug dealers, with several members of its working-age population trapped in a vicious cycle of drug abuse.
According to a report from the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), about 50 drug use-related deaths occur daily in Indonesia. However, the deaths have failed to deter other drug users in the country.
Users of crystal methamphetamine, narcotics, marijuana, and other addictive drugs transcend communities and socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.
Indonesia is perceived by both domestic and transnational drug dealers as a potential market due to its huge population and millions of drug users. Drug trade in the country is estimated at nearly Rp66 trillion.
In the face of the grave threat posed by drug lords, on December 5, 2019, BNN Chief Commissioner, General Heru Winarko, had met with Security Minister Mahfud MD to discuss matters pertaining to Indonesia's war on drugs, including the need to execute death row convicts.
"Capital punishment is part of the laws that should be imposed," Winarko had stated following his meeting with the coordinating minister for political, legal, and security affairs. (INE)
Related news: Malaysian citizen detained for drug possesion while crossing border
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EDITED BY INE
Translator: Andilala, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2020
