Police arrested two suspected drug traffickers from a hotel and confiscated 8 kg of crystal methamphetamine and 5,708 ecstasy pills in the drug bust.
The police's success in thwarting this huge drug racket saved at least 91 thousand people from getting trapped into the vicious cycle of drug addiction, Central Java Police Chief, Inspector General Ahmad Luthfi, told journalists here on Thursday.
The racket was uncovered after local police investigators grilled a drug courier, identified as CG, 29, who was arrested by Semarang city prison wardens recently while trying to smuggle 101 grams of crystal meth into the penitentiary.
Acting on information provided by CG, investigators apprehended two other suspects who were staying at a hotel in Semarang, the capital of Central Java province, and seized drugs and pills from them.
The two suspects, identified as AM (40) and AMQ (29), are residents of Southeast Sulawesi province, while CG hails from Semarang, Luthfi said.
At the time of arrest, AM and AMQ, who flew to Semarang from Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi province, were found dividing the crystal meth package into smaller packs.
They did not carry the drug package with them on the flight, said Luthfi. Instead, they shipped the drugs, he added.
Investigators have launched a hunt for the owner of the eight-kg crystal meth package, he informed.
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Indonesia remains under serious threat from drug dealers, with several individuals from its working-age population trapped in a vicious cycle of drug use.
A report from the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) shows that about 50 Indonesians die of drug use every day, but that has not yet deterred the practice in the country.
Users of crystal methamphetamine, narcotics, marijuana, and other types of addictive drugs transcend communities, and socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.
Given its huge population and millions of drug users, Indonesia is perceived by both domestic and transnational drug dealers as a potential market. The value of the drug trade in the country is estimated to have reached nearly least Rp66 trillion.
With drug kingpins smuggling and trading drugs in the country over the past few decades, the Indonesian government has continued to apply harsh punitive action against them.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo had also issued shoot-at-sight orders against drug kingpins.
However, this has failed to deter drug traffickers. They continue to treat Indonesia as one of their main markets, even as Indonesian law enforcers keep the fight going against them.
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Translator: Immanuel CS, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Sri Haryati
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