Pratama is wanted for trafficking 10.2 tons of crystal methamphetamine and 116,346 ecstasy pills in Indonesia between 2020 and 2023.
"I believe that he remains in Thailand. His whereabouts remain unchanged, namely in a forest," Police Brig. Gen. Mukti Juharsa, director of the National Police's Narcotics Investigation Division, said in Jakarta on Wednesday.
He said that he could not divulge details on the forest where Pratama may be hiding as the National Police (Polri) is set to continue its joint investigation with the Thai Police.
Polri officers are scheduled to return to Thailand after the Idul Fitri holiday season as part of Polri's endeavors to optimize the manhunt for the drug lord, he added.
ANTARA earlier reported that over the past three years, Polri has uncovered 408 drug cases linked to Pratama's network and arrested 884 suspects.
It has thereby managed to cut Pratama's supplies of crystal methamphetamine and ecstasy pills, while his network of drug couriers and dealers in Indonesia has been crippled, Juharsa informed.
With the network of drug couriers and dealers weakened, it is difficult for Pratama's people to enter Indonesia, he noted, adding that the police have been waging a war on Pratama's drug ring since 2020.
He said that in May 2023, the National Police formed a special task force for hunting down the Pratama drug ring under the "Escobar Indonesia" Operation.
Since then, the special task force's personnel have arrested 58 suspected members of the drug ring. The suspects reportedly belong to the upper echelons of the drug lord's network.
Domestic and transnational drug dealers consider Indonesia a potential market due to its vast population and millions of drug users.
The value of the drug trade in the country is estimated to have reached nearly Rp66 trillion (around US$4.24 billion), with the number of drug trafficking cases continuing to rise.
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 10,000 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: Laily R, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Anton Santoso
Copyright © ANTARA 2024
