"The suspects were arrested in West Kalimantan and Jakarta last year," deputy for eradication at the agency, Inspector General I Wayan Sugiri, told a press conference in Jakarta on Friday .
Of the total crystal meth, 15.9 kg was seized from two suspects, believed to belong to a Malaysia-Kalimantan syndicate, he informed, adding that BNN officers detected the drug case on November 27, 2023.
The suspects, identified by their initials as SMP alias T and HD alias B, confessed to BNN investigators that they were asked to transport the drug package by a drug lord, identified as ZL, he said. A hunt has been launched for ZL, he added.
The remaining 5,100 grams of crystal meth were confiscated from six drug traffickers arrested in Jakarta during a raid on December 11, 2023, he said.
The suspects, identified as RA alias IO, AP, RYS alias AL, RMP alias P, GIK alias G, and HMD alias AG, received the crystal meth package from a courier from Mexico, Sugiri said.
To uncover the case, in which a Mexican drug cartel could be involved, BNN officers collaborated closely with their counterparts from Soekarno Hatta International Airport's Customs and Excise Office, he added.
"The BNN investigators are still investigating this case," he said.
ANTARA earlier reported that domestic and transnational drug dealers consider Indonesia a potential market due to its vast population and widespread drug use.
The value of the drug trade in the country is estimated to have reached nearly Rp66 trillion (around US$4.23 million), with the number of drug trafficking cases continuing to surge.
A joint survey conducted by the 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, which covered 34 provinces, indicated that about 180 out of every 10 thousand Indonesians in the age group of 15 to 64 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: Fath PM, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Anton Santoso
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