The four suspects were members of an international drug syndicate, Deputy Chief of the Aceh Police Brigadier General Raden Purwadi stated here on Monday in the company of Head of the Aceh Customs Office Safuadi.
"The four suspects were arrested in North Aceh, and (the police) seized 33 tea packages containing crystal methamphetamine from them. Each packet contains one kilogram of meth," he remarked.
The four drug traffickers, identified by their initials as IR (43), SB (47), IY (39), and FR (29), are the residents of East Aceh District.
The police made the arrests following a tip-off received of illicit drug transactions in North Aceh. The joint team acted swiftly on the received information and arrested IR, SB, and IY in the Syamtalira area, North Aceh, on Sunday (July 19) at around 20:30 local time.
After questioning the three suspects, the Aceh Regional Police team later arrested another suspect, FL, in Keude Lhoknibong, North Aceh. Suspect FL was a customer, while the three other suspects were couriers tasked with delivering the drugs to North Sumatra.
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The suspects admitted to have been paid Rp5 million per kg to transport the drugs to North Sumatra.
"We were contacted by someone named Agam to bring methamphetamine to North Sumatra. The consignment weighed 83 kilograms. We are unaware of the other 50 kilograms," IR stated.
The crystal methamphetamine was smuggled from Malaysia into Indonesia aboard a boat through the waters of Aceh.
If found guilty, the suspects are liable to face a 20-year jail term or life sentence.
"In addition to the four suspects, the police are also attempting to find the drug dealer," Purwadi stated.
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Translator: M Haris SA, Fardah
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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