The suspects have been identified by their initials as AS and RD, chief of the West Kalimantan Police's Narcotics Investigation Department, Senior Commissioner Thelly Iskandar Muda, said here on Wednesday.
AS was apprehended in Beduai sub-district, Sanggau district, on August 31, by a joint team of police personnel. The police seized 5.6 kg of crystal meth from him.
On September 7, local cops nabbed RD with 2 kg of crystal meth. Both AS and RD are drug couriers, he informed, adding that the perpetrators could be sentenced to five years in jail or get the death penalty.
The West Kalimantan police destroyed the drugs seized from the two suspects on Tuesday.
According to Muda, at least 60,824 residents were potentially saved from getting dragged into drug addiction due to the police foiling AS and RD's drug trafficking operations.
"We are committed to continuing our crackdowns on drug offenders, and we hope community members join the war on drugs," he added.
Domestic and transnational drug dealers consider Indonesia a potential market due to its vast population and millions of drug users.
The value of the drug trade in the country is estimated to have reached nearly Rp66 trillion, with the number of drug trafficking cases continuing to increase.
A joint survey conducted by the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) in 2019 pegged the number of drug users in Indonesia at over 3.4 million.
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 users of crystal methamphetamine, narcotics, marijuana, and other types of addictive drugs can belong to any community and socioeconomic and cultural background.
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Translator: T Timotius, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Sri Haryati
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