The suspect, only identified by his initials NT (39), is a resident of Sei Tualang Raso sub-district, Tanjungbalai Ccty, North Sumatra, Asahan Police chief Adjunct Sen.Coms.Putu Yudha Prawira said here on Friday.
The cops who raided NT's house on August 27 found 28 kg of crystal methamphetamine or sabu-sabu, but NT managed to escape, he said, adding that NT packed the drug in several green plastic bags to conceal them inside a rice sack.
Police officers launched a hunt for NT on August 28 and arrested him on the Kisaran-Air Joman road section of Karang Anyer Village in Kisaran Timur sub-district, Asahan district, Prawira added.
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NT told police investigators that he worked with two people in the drug trafficking operation while his role was keeping the drug package safe at home, he said.
The local police officers launched a hunt for the two other suspects, he said.
"NT has received 69 packs of crystal meth, and he has distributed 42 of the 69 packs," Prawira added.
Indonesia remains under grave threat from drug dealers, with scores from its working-age population trapped in a vicious circle of drugs.
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Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which struck the country on March 2, 2020, drug lords have continued to pose a serious threat to the country with drug-trafficking rampant even amid the health crisis.
Since his first leadership term, President Joko Widodo has been reminding the nation of the serious impact of drug consumption on Indonesia.
While inaugurating a grand mosque in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, on January 20, 2015, he had warned that at least 50 people were dying of drug abuse every day.
The statistics included those who failed to get rehabilitated, he stated.
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According to the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), the deaths have failed to deter drug users in the country.
The users of crystal methamphetamine, narcotics, marijuana, and other types of addictive drugs come from different communities and socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.
Citing the result of a survey by BNN and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), vice president Ma'ruf Amin said that Indonesia has over 3.4 million drug users.
The survey has shown that about 180 out of every 10 thousand Indonesians, aged between 15 and 64, have been pushed into drug addiction, he noted.
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Translator: Nur ABS, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
