Thirteen of the 14 suspects were apprehended during routine surveillance operations at the Bakauheni Ferry Port in Lampung province, director of the National Police’s Narcotics Directorate, Brig.Gen.Krisno Halomoan Siregar, said here on Wednesday.
"The surveillance operations targeting drug crimes at the Bakauheni Ferry Port in Lampung province, conducted from October 27 to November 17, 2020, have resulted in (the filing of) five cases,” Siregar told a press conference.
Police confiscated 34 kg of crystal methamphetamine, 32,940 ecstasy pills, and six kg of marijuana from the 13 suspects and 18.4 kg of crystal meth from another alleged peddler, identified as RS, who was nabbed during a raid in the Kelapa Gading neighborhood of North Jakarta.
Siregar said the drugs were transported by drug couriers from several cities in Sumatra Island, including Asahan, Mandailing Natal, Medan (North Sumatra), and Pekanbaru (Riau).
The drug packages were transported by buses to several cities in Java Island, including Jakarta, Tangerang (Banten), and Surabaya (East Java), he added.
Indonesia remains under grave threat from drug dealers, who consider the country a potential market. The value of drug trade in Indonesia is estimated to be at least Rp66 trillion.
Users of crystal methamphetamine, narcotics, marijuana, and other types of addictive drugs transcend communities and socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.
The Indonesian government has taken harsh punitive action against drug kingpins found smuggling and trading drugs in the country over the past few decades.
National Police chief, General Idham Azis, recently stated that district courts in different parts of Indonesia have awarded capital punishment to at least 100 drug offenders in the first half of this year.
"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.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has also issued shoot-at-sight orders against drug kingpins.
However, this has failed to deter drug traffickers, who have continued to treat Indonesia as one of their main markets, prompting Indonesian law enforcers to tighten vigilance against them. (INE)
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EDITED BY INE
Translator: Anita PD, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2020
