The suspects, identified as Ferry Firmansyah (35) and Fatan Samudra (17), had concealed crystal methamphetamine inside a wrapped rice pack, police said here on Tuesday.
Police officers found the drugs while conducting a body search, during which they also checked inside the wrapped rice pack.
The suspects were taken into police custody for further investigation, said police, but did not provide information on the total weight of the crystal meth package.
Medan, the capital of North Sumatra province, is among the Indonesian cities which remain vulnerable to drug crimes.
On November 18, 2020, director of the National Police’s Narcotics Directorate, Brig.Gen.Krisno Halomoan Siregar, disclosed that several drug packages, which were seized at the Bakauheni Ferry Port in Lampung province between October 27 and November 17, 2020, were transported from several cities in Sumatra Island, including Medan.
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 said 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: Nur ABS, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2020
