The suspects, identified as DE (36) and AS (21), had stashed 13 kg of crystal methamphetamine, 10,000 ecstasy pills, and two FN and revolver handguns in a car, Pekanbaru city police spokesperson, First Inspector Hendriawan, told journalists here on Tuesday.
When local police flagged their car, which had tinted windows, DE and AS drove off towards Siak Hulu subdistrict in Kampar district, Riau province.
However, police managed to stop them on Pasir Putih Road in Siak Hulu subdistrict at 5.30 p.m. on Sunday. Police officers found two handguns, ecstasy pills stuffed inside a backpack, and crystal meth stashed inside a cardboard box for a television set inside the car, said Hendriawan.
DE and AS are residents of Siak Hulu subdistrict, he added.
Domestic and transnational drug dealers see Indonesia as a potential market owing to its vast population and millions of drug users. The drug trade in the nation is valued at nearly Rp66 trillion.
People from all sections of society are falling prey to drugs, regardless of their socio-economic and professional backgrounds.
In the face of the grave threat posed by drug lords, National Narcotics Agency (BNN) Chief Commissioner General Heru Winarko has sought capital punishment for those involved in the drug trade in the country.
National Police Chief General Idham Azis recently highlighted that district courts in different parts of Indonesia have 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 stressed while witnessing the National Police special task force destroy 1.2 tons of crystal meth, 35 thousand ecstasy pills, and 410 kg of marijuana in Jakarta on July 2, 2020.
The Indonesian Legal and Human Rights Ministry has also hinted at its support for transferring convicted drug dealers and producers to the maximum-security prison in Cilacap district's Nusakambangan Island since it has an adequate number of vacant prison cells. (INE)
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EDITED BY INE
Translator: Bayu AA, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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