RD risked smuggling the crystal methamphetamine package from Malaysia into Indonesia on the promise of good payment from a drug lordPontianak, W Kalimantan (ANTARA) - Indonesian soldiers from the Brajamusti Field Artillery 10 Task Force thwarted a drug trafficker's attempt to smuggle 10 kg of crystal meth from the Malaysia-Indonesia border of West Kalimantan Province on Sunday.
The suspect was arrested while smuggling the drug package into Enteli Village, Ketungau Hulu Sub-district, Sintang District, spokesperson of the XII Tanjungpura Regional Military Command Colonel Ade Rizal Muharram stated.
The suspect, identified as RD, is an Indonesian citizen coming from Bima District in West Nusa Tenggara Province, he remarked, adding that RD was a palm oil plantation worker in Malaysia.
Muharram said RD risked smuggling the crystal methamphetamine package from Malaysia into Indonesia on the promise of good payment from a drug lord, who had ordered him.
The border task force personnel caught RD red-handed carrying the drug package while conducting their routine patrol on an "informal" route of Enteli Village at 4:15 a.m. local time on Sunday, he stated.
The soldiers seized 10 tea bags containing 10 kg of crystal meth from RD, who would hand the package over to a contact person in the Balai Karangan neighborhood area, Muharram noted.
The evidence of RD's crime was secured at the XII Tanjungpura Regional Military Command headquarters to then be submitted to the local police for investigation, he stated.
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The Malaysia-Indonesia border area remains vulnerable to transnational drug trafficking operations.
On October 27, 2023, for instance, the army personnel had also foiled a drug trafficker's attempt to smuggle 11.08 kg of crystal meth into the Jagoi Babang area of Bengkayang District in West Kalimantan, he stated.
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, 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: Jafar M Sidik
Copyright © ANTARA 2023
