The local police officers apprehended four suspects and confiscated the drug package of 100 kg of cannabis supplied by their drug ring members in Aceh Province, Director of the Riau Police Headquarters' Criminal Investigation Department Sen. Coms. Suhirman stated.
The suspects were only identified by their initials as N (33) and A (31), both residents of Aceh Province; HG (30), a resident of North Sumatra Province; and BK (36), a resident of Batam City, Riau Province, he noted here on Wednesday.
"They are currently under police custody. The police investigators are still conducting a probe into this drug case," he remarked, adding that this drug raid operation was successful after the anti-drug squad personnel conducted a 15-day-long surveillance operation.
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The dried marijuana package was supplied by the suspects' drug ring in Aceh and was transported aboard a mini pick-up truck, owned by HG.
During their drug trafficking operation from Aceh to Riau, A and N monitored the road aboard a motorcycle to chiefly ensure no police checkpoints and report it to HG, he revealed.
Indonesia remains under serious threat from drug dealers, with scores of members of its working-age population engulfed into a vicious cycle of drug abuse.
The National Narcotics Agency's (BNN's) report indicated that some 50 drug use-related deaths occurred daily in Indonesia. However, other drug users in the country seem undeterred by the death toll.
Users of crystal methamphetamine, narcotics, marijuana, and other addictive drugs transcend communities and socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.
Domestic and transnational drug dealers perceive Indonesia as a potential market owing to its huge population and millions of drug users. The country’s drug trade is estimated at nearly Rp66 trillion.
In the face of the grave threat posed by drug lords, BNN Chief Commissioner General Heru Winarko had met with Security Minister Mahfud MD on December 5, 2019, for discussions on Indonesia's war on drugs, including the necessity 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.
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Translator: Anggi R, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Sri Haryati
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