They are all under police custodyMedan, N Sumatra (ANTARA) - The Medan city police recently apprehended three drug dealers and confiscated 15 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, 20 thousand ecstasy pills, and 0.70 grams of dried cannabis from the suspects during two drug raids this week.
The suspects, arrested at several locations around Medan, the capital of North Sumatra Province, on July 21 and July 22, are identified by their initials as TZ (47), KS (49), and IE (23), Medan Metro Police Chief Sen. Coms. Riko Sunarko stated here on Friday.
"They are all under police custody," he remarked, adding that the 15 kg of crystal meth and 20 thousand ecstasy pills were seized from TZ, who confessed to police investigators to have been paid Rp3 million per kg of crystal meth that he could sell to local drug users.
TZ came clean about having obtained the drug packages from suspect BR, who is still a fugitive, he revealed.
Domestic and transnational drug dealers view Indonesia as a potential market on account of its huge population and millions of drug users. Drug trade in the country is valued at almost Rp66 trillion.
People from all sections of society are falling prey to drugs, regardless of socio-economic and professional backgrounds.
Among drug users are those from the country's entertainment industry, as is evident from the arrests of several entertainers over consumption and also trade of illicit drugs.
Drug dealers in Indonesia apparently perceive those from the world of entertainment as potential customers, partially due to their financial status and lifestyle.
The involvement of celebrities in drug offences poses a real and grave threat to the nation's war on drugs since they are public figures, whose popularity has made them influential, with several attracting a massive following.
In the face of the grave threat posed by drug lords, National Narcotics Agency (BNN) Chief Commissioner General Heru Winarko has called for awarding capital punishment to those involved in drug trade in the country.
National Police Chief General Idham Azis recently revealed that district courts in different parts of Indonesia had awarded capital punishment to at least 100 drug offenders in the first half of 2020.
"May they soon be executed by firing squads to deter others," he emphasized while bearing witness to the National Police special task force’s move to destroy 1.2 tons of crystal methamphetamine, 35 thousand ecstasy pills, and 410 kilograms of marijuana in Jakarta on July 2, 2020.
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Translator: Nur ABS, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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