The packages contained 16.88 kg of crystal methamphetamine and 800 pieces of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD), the Jakarta Metropolitan Police's spokesperson, Sen.Coms. Endra Zulpan, informed.
"The automotive spare parts were intentionally used as camouflage for the illicit drugs to deceive the authorities," he said in a statement that ANTARA received in Jakarta on Friday.
Thirty-nine people were arrested for their alleged involvement in the transnational drug trafficking operation, he added. All of them are Indonesian citizens, Zulpan said.
Police investigators have named them suspects in the case, he said, adding that the suspects obtained the drug packages from Congo, Uganda, China, and Canada.
According to Zulpan, police and customs and excise personnel's success in foiling the drug smuggling operation has prevented at least 85 thousand Indonesians from getting dragged into drug addiction.
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Police have charged the suspects under Articles 114 (2) and 112 (1, and 2) of the Narcotics Law. If found guilty, they would face the death penalty.
Domestic and transnational drug dealers view Indonesia as a potential market owing to its huge population and millions of drug users.
The drug trade in the nation is valued at nearly Rp66 trillion.
People from all strata of society are falling prey to drugs in the country regardless of their socio-economic and professional backgrounds.
Over the past few decades, the Indonesian government has taken harsh punitive action against drug barons found smuggling and trading drugs in the country.
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The National Narcotics Agency (BNN) has sought capital punishment for those involved in the drug trade.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has issued shoot-at-sight orders against drug kingpins.
However, this has failed to deter drug traffickers, who continue to treat Indonesia as a main market, prompting Indonesian law enforcers to step up vigilance against them.
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Translator: Fianda SR, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
