Jember, E Java (ANTARA) - The East Java police seized 2.8 kilograms (kg) of dried marijuana from four suspected drug dealers, including two university students, in Jember District, during a recent raid.

The suspects are only identified by their initials as BO (29), AW (30), IS (24), and IM (24), Jember Deputy Police Chief Commissioner Kadek Ary Mahardika revealed.

IS resided in West Kalimantan Province, while IM was a resident of East Kalimantan. Both are registered as students of a privately owned university in Malang, East Java.

Meanwhile, BO and AW resided in Jember District, East Java Province, Mahardika noted in a press statement that ANTARA quoted here, Sunday.

Members of this East Java's drug ring could be apprehended following BO's arrest, Mahardika remarked.

"BO was arrested while picking up a marijuana package near his home in Kebonsari neighborhood. The cops confiscated 1.4 kg of dried cannabis from him," he stated.

BO confessed to police investigators that he was merely a drug courier. BO's arrest led to AW being apprehended, as the person was believed to have ordered the marijuana package, he revealed.

These two suspects then informed police investigators of having obtained the drug packages from IS and IM, university students living in Malang City.

"We then arrested them at their rented rooms along with 1.4 kg of dried marijuana," he noted, adding that they purchased the cannabis from Aceh through online sources.

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The police have charged the four suspects with violating Article 114 (2) of Indonesia's 2009 Narcotics Law that attracts a prison term of between six and 20 years.

Indonesia remains under serious threat from drug dealers, as several individuals from its working-age population have become trapped in a vicious circle.

The National Narcotics Agency's (BNN's) report of some 50 Indonesians dying of drug use daily has failed to deter drug users in the country from consuming these banned substances.

The users of crystal methamphetamine, narcotics, marijuana, and other types of addictive drugs come from different communities and socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.

In February 2021, West Java Police's Propam had placed in detention 12 cops, including the chief of the Astanaanyar district police precinct, on grounds of allegedly consuming a narcotics drug.

Hence, Indonesia is perceived by both domestic and transnational drug dealers as a potential market due to its vast population and millions of drug users. The value of drug trade in the country is estimated to have reached nearly at least Rp66 trillion.

In response to the smuggling of illicit drugs by drug kingpins and traded in the country over the past few decades, the Indonesian government continues to apply harsh punitive action against them. (INE)

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Translator: Zumrotun S, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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