"Some 40 thousand cannabis plants get cultivated on the plantation if one hectare of land is planted with eight thousand cannabis seeds," North Aceh Police Chief Adjunct Sen. Coms. Deden Heksaputera Sanusi remarked.
Speaking in Lhokseumawe on Friday, he noted that the cannabis plantation could be uncovered owing to the arrest of a drug trafficker, identified as A, who attempted to transport 18 kilograms of dried marijuana on Sept 8.
This 32-year-old drug courier, who was apprehended in Sawang Village, Sawang Sub-district, told police investigators that he had obtained the marijuana package from a local resident, identified as D, Sanusi stated.
He remarked that D, aged 38, was a "garden keeper" while adding that the North Aceh Police's anti-drug squad personnel then raided D's house in Sawang Village on Oct 6.
D said he had obtained the marijuana from the cannabis plantation owned by A, Sanusi revealed.
Along with D, several police officers came to an area where the cannabis plantation was cultivated. They then destroyed the plantation.
The two suspects are currently under police custody for further investigation, he added.
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ANTARA reported earlier that Aceh remains in a state of emergency over drug trafficking, with transnational and inter-provincial drug rings still active in the province despite the ongoing crackdown against them.
Both police and the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) have continued to clamp down on drug kingpins and their drug supply networks in Aceh over the past few years.
Looking at the physical evidence of drug crimes that local police and BNN officers have frequently seized, cannabis and crystal methamphetamine seem to be the most commonly trafficked drugs.
On April 6, 2021, a joint team of personnel from the BNN, police, military, and local government destroyed nine hectares of cannabis plantations in North Aceh District.
More than 70 thousand cannabis plants, reaching 30 to 250 centimeters in height, were burned to the ground in the villages of Jurong and Sawang as part of the operation.
The destroyed cannabis plants weighed in at a total of 35 tons. The joint team members also burned and uprooted about 10 thousand cannabis seeds.
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Translator: Khalis S, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
Copyright © ANTARA 2023
