Semarang, Central Java (ANTARA) - The Semarang Police thwarted an attempt to traffic a shipment of 8.4 kilograms (kg) of crystal methamphetamine from Kalimantan to Semarang City by sea.

Central Java Police Chief Inspector General Ahmad Luthfi stated here on Monday that one suspect, functioning as a courier for the 8.4 kg of crystal methamphetamine, was arrested while hiding in his boarding house in Sayung, Demak District.

The case came to light following a tip-off from an owner of a truck traveling from Kalimantan to Semarang using MV Dharma Kartika VII. He reported to the police about suspicious items at the back of his truck.

Luthfi noted that during a joint inspection, the police found eight packages of methamphetamine weighing 8.4 kg in the truck.

Officers followed up on the findings by examining CCTV footage aboard MV Dharma Kartika VII at the Tanjung Emas Port, Semarang, he added.

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"Based on the CCTV footage, it can be seen that someone threw something into the back of a truck on a ship that was going to dock at the port," he revealed.

This method was suspected as a new mode of smuggling methamphetamine, he remarked.

"When the truck gets off the ship, it is likely that the perpetrators would retrieve the goods from the truck," he remarked.

The police arrested Helianto Kosim, 42, a resident of East Kotawaringin, Central Kalimantan, who is suspected of being a drug courier.

The suspect was hiding in a boarding house in Sayung, Demak District.

The suspect came clean that delivery of the illicit goods was in keeping with an order by a person identified by his initial as S, he stated.

Kosim, a former recidivist in a fraud case, admitted to having received Rp20 million for every kg of crystal methamphetamine that he managed to send.

Related news: 5 kg drugs seized in Palembang city

Translator: Immanuel CS, Fardah
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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