Some 20 of the 36 kg of crystal meth, or locally known as sabu-sabu, were seized during a drug raid in Rupat Island, Bengkalis District, on Oct 12, he was quoted by ANTARA as saying in Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau Island, on Monday.
The remaining 16 kg, packed in 16 bags, were confiscated from two suspects, including a police officer, identified as IZ, as a result of a drug raid operation on Oct 24.
The cop was shot at and consequently sustained gunshot wounds on his back after attempting to escape the local police officers' raid, he stated, adding that he received the drug package from Malaysia and intended to trade it at several locations around Riau.
The Riau police investigators continue to chase another suspect, allegedly a drug lord. While highlighting and acknowledging his team’s successful fight against the drug traffickers, Effendi expressed gratitude to community members, who had voluntarily given tip-offs to the cops.
The collective war on drug abuse and addiction in Riau Province must be waged on a more aggressive and fierce scale by taking into account the fact that some 2,100 of the 3,200 detainees are closely related to drug cases, he emphasized.
Speaking in connection with the involvement of cops in drug crimes, ANTARA noted that in February 2020, a policeman from Bengkalis District's police precinct was arrested along with three other suspects for trading a 10-kg-drug package and 60 thousand ecstasy pills in Dumai City.
Indonesia remains under serious threat from drug dealers, who view the country as a potential market. The value of drug trade in Indonesia is estimated to have reached at least Rp66 trillion.
Users of crystal methamphetamine, narcotics, marijuana, and other types of addictive drugs transcend communities and socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.
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.
National Police Chief, General Idham Azis, recently pointed out 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 stressed while bearing witness to 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.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo had also issued shoot-at-sight orders against drug kingpins.
However, this has failed to deter drug traffickers, who continue to treat Indonesia as one of their main markets, even as Indonesian law enforcers continue their fight against them.
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EDITED BY INE
Translator: Bayu AA, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2020
