Three people, identified as HE, MF, and R, who were involved in the drug smuggling operation, were arrested on June 16, Head of Customs and Excise-Aceh Office, Leni Rahmasari, stated here on Wednesday.
Rahmasari attributed the success in thwarting the smuggling to the synergistic collaboration that was established by the Customs and Excise Directorate General with maritime patrol units and the National Narcotics Agency (BNN).
Community members also contributed to the success, as they gave the law enforcement personnel a tip-off about the possible smuggling of a drug package from Malaysia into Aceh, she stated.
To smuggle the drug package, the suspects placed the crystal meth in four sacks and transported them from the sea to a beach in Pidie District using a fishing boat, she revealed.
The law enforcement personnel apprehended the suspects, secured the boat used for transporting the drug package, and seized the 99 kg of crystal meth that they had concealed in a farm near a mosque in Pidie, she remarked.
ANTARA reported earlier that Indonesia remains under a serious threat from drug dealers, as several individuals from its working-age population get siphoned into a vicious circle.
According to a joint survey conducted by BNN and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) in 2019, there were over 3.4 million drug users in Indonesia.
The survey conducted in 34 provinces indicated that approximately 180 out of every 10, 000 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 kept reminding the nation of the grave impacts of drug consumption on Indonesia.
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Translator: MHS Agus, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Anton Santoso
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