The cops arrested a suspect, identified as NS, in Teupin Reusep Village, Sawang Sub-district, on July 5, according to Chief of North Aceh Police's Narcotics Division, Adjunct Commissioner Novrizaldi.
This 32-year-old man packed the marijuana in 42 bags concealed inside a fertilizer sack, he remarked in Banda Aceh on Wednesday.
NS told police investigators that he had obtained the marijuana package from another suspect, identified as S, to be transported to the resort island of Bali, he stated.
The police have launched a manhunt for S who, according to NS, had promised to pay Rp9 million (around US$601) per bag of marijuana if the drug package was successfully delivered to and traded in Bali, he remarked.
Novrizaldi revealed that his side had also apprehended two men in alleged possession of one kg of crystal methamphetamine on July 10.
The suspects, only identified by their initials as SI (40) and MS (38), were nabbed in a house in Jambo Leubok Village, Indra Makmur Sub-district, owing to a tip-off from local residents, he noted.
The suspects told police investigators that they received the drug package from S, who has been placed on the police's most-wanted list, he remarked.
The suspects could be sentenced to death or at least six years in jail if the North Aceh District court found them guilty, he stated.
ANTARA reported earlier that according to the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences' (LIPI's) joint survey in 2019, there were over 3.4 million drug users in Indonesia.
The survey conducted in 34 provinces indicated that about 180 out of every 10 thousand Indonesians in the age group of 15 to 64 years were addicted to drugs.
The government is well aware of this alarming threat of drug abuse and addiction. Since his first leadership term, President Joko Widodo has also been reminding the nation of the grave impacts of drug consumption on Indonesia.
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Translator: Khalis S, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Anton Santoso
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