"The suspects comprise drug dealers and couriers local cops arrested over these past few months," deputy director of South Sumatra Police's Narcotics Investigation Department, Adjunct Sen.Coms.Haris Sandi, said.
To destroy the seized drugs, police officers blended them in water before dumping them, he informed, adding that the police wanted to remain transparent in their war on drugs.
Sandi said that since drug trafficking still poses a serious threat to the province, his men have continued to crack down on perpetrators.
On October 11, 2023, for instance, the South Sumatra police disclosed that 6 members of an inter-provincial drug ring involved in transporting 3 kg of crystal meth had been arrested.
Police officers also hunted down several other suspects who owned and ordered the drug packages, Sandi said recently.
The cops arrested J, D, and F, who attempted to deliver 2 kg of crystal meth along with 4,010 ecstasy pills from Medan, North Sumatra, to Musi Rawas Utara district in South Sumatra province, he added.
Three other drug couriers, identified as DS, A, and A, were also apprehended for transporting 1 kg of crystal meth to Palembang city, he revealed without elaborating when and where their arrests took place.
Domestic and transnational drug dealers consider Indonesia to be a potential market due to its vast population and millions of drug users.
The value of drug trade in the country is estimated to have reached nearly Rp66 trillion (around US$4.15 billion), with the number of drug trafficking cases continuing to surge.
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: Yudi A, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Tia Mutiasari
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