The two women planned to transport the crystal meth package to Surabaya, East Java, while their aircraft was scheduled to take off at 6:30 a.m. local timeMedan, N Sumatra (ANTARA) - Aviation security at Kualanamu International Airport in North Sumatra province on Tuesday foiled an attempt by two drug couriers to transport 1.3 kg of drugs concealed in footwear to Surabaya.
The suspects, identified as RD (32) and I (29), were traveling on Lion Air's Medan-Surabaya flight, the airport's spokesperson Paulina HA Simbolon told journalists.
The two women were caught red-handed at the airport's X-ray security check, where the airport's aviation security officers found they had concealed a package containing crystal methamphetamine inside a sandal that they had modified, Simbolon informed.
"The two women planned to transport the crystal meth package to Surabaya, East Java, while their aircraft was scheduled to take off at 6:30 a.m. local time," she added.
Based on their identity cards, they were residents of Bireuen district in Aceh province, she said adding that the two women were handed over to North Sumatra police.
Several members of inter-provincial drug trafficking networks have tried transporting drug packages through the Kualanamu International Airport, Simbolon said.
On March 17, 2021, for instance, a drug courier from Aceh was arrested at the airport while trying to transport 1.01 kg of crystal meth to Lombok Island in West Nusa Tenggara province.
The suspect, identified as ASH, 20, was stopped and arrested before boarding Batik Air flight ID-6881 that was headed to Soekarno Hatta International Airport in Cengkareng, Banten province, en route to Mataram City in Lombok Island.
The airport's aviation security personnel caught ASH, who had hidden the drug package in his backpack.
The suspect was a resident of Keude Bungkaih village, Muara Batu sub-district, Aceh Utara district, Aceh province.
Aceh and North Sumatra remain prone to drug crimes as inter-provincial syndicates prefer conducting drug trades and narcotics trafficking operations in the provinces.
ANTARA has reported that scores of drug prisoners from the two provinces were among the 643 convicted drug dealers that the Law and Human Rights Ministry recently transferred to the maximum security prison on Nusakambangan Island in Central Java.
Domestic and transnational drug dealers perceive Indonesia as a potential market on account of its vast population and millions of drug users.
Drug trade in the nation is 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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EDITED BY INE
Translator: Nur ABS, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
