Klame was apprehended while he was with his girlfriendJayapura, Papua (ANTARA) - Papua police this week apprehended two Papua New Guinea citizens for smuggling drugs into the Indonesian province, a police officer informed here on Thursday.
On Monday (March 22, 2021), a PNG citizen, identified as Tom Klame, 33, was nabbed in the Polimak 1 neighborhood area of Jayapura city while trying to sell four packets of marijuana.
"Klame was apprehended while he was with his girlfriend," director of Papua Police's Criminal Investigation Department-Narcotics Division, Sen.Coms.Alfian, told ANTARA.
Klame told investigators that he still had 133 packets of marijuana buried under a sandy beach in Holtekam and concealed in a mangrove forest, Alfian revealed.
Klame sealed the marijuana in plastic bags to prevent the drug cache from getting wet, he said, adding that the suspect has repeatedly smuggled cannabis from PNG into Papua.
To halt such cross-border drug trafficking in future, a regular maritime patrol near the sea border of Indonesia and PNG needs to be intensified, Alfian said.
Early on Monday (March 22, 2021), Papua police also arrested another PNG citizen, identified as Gadafi Kuentaw Waropo, 18, and seized five sacks of marijuana from him.
The suspect was apprehended in Many Island of Jayapura Selatan sub-district, Jayapura City, following the arrest of one Beny Toway Waropo, 28.
Gadafi had concealed the marijuana near his home in Many Island, Alfian revealed.
Meanwhile, Beny was apprehended in the Kali Acai neighborhood of Abepura on Sunday evening (March 21, 2021), he said.
During a raid at his house, police found 21 packets of marijuana and a 10-kg rice bag, Alfian informed, adding that the marijuana packages were smuggled into Papua from PNG.
However, Alfian said, he is yet to gain concrete information on whether the drug packages were smuggled by sea or land since the case is being investigated by Papua police.
To fight drug rings operating in communities, Alfian urged local residents to report any suspicious activity in their neighborhoods to police.
Domestic and transnational drug dealers see Indonesia as a potential market on account of its vast population and millions of drug users.
The nation has been dragged into a state of emergency over narcotics trade and abuse, with drug trade in the country valued at nearly Rp66 trillion.
Data indicates that people from all societal levels are falling prey to drugs in the country, irrespective of their socio-economic and professional backgrounds. (INE)
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Translator: Evarukdijati, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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