The North Sumatra police raids also resulted in the seizure of 307.7 kg of crystal meth, 409.4 kg of marijuana, 47,196 ecstasy pills, and 49 Tramadol pills, North Sumatra Police spokesperson Sen. Coms. Hadi Wahyudi remarked.
During the span of time, the local cops also destroyed 65,154 marijuana plants and apprehended 2,019 members of drug syndicates and 529 drug users, Wahyudi noted here, Monday.
The cops also seized more than Rp302 million in cash, 37 cars, 305 motorbikes, three motorized pedicabs, 1,152 handphones, 247 digital weighing scales, and 257 crystal meth inhaling devices (bong) from the suspects.
In stepping up their efforts to curb drug trafficking activities, the North Sumatra police officers tighten their surveillance operations at the province's seaports and airports, he affirmed.
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 surge.
The National Police recently claimed to have crippled the drug rings of Fredy Pratama, a drug lord hunted down for trafficking 10.2 tons of crystal meth and 116,346 ecstasy pills in Indonesia from 2020 to 2023.
Over the past three years, the police had uncovered 408 drug cases related to Pramata's network and arrested 884 suspects, according to Director of the National Police's Narcotics Investigation Division, Brigadier General Mukti Juharsa.
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: M.Sahbainy N, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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