The suspects were nabbed from five sub-districts around Sukabumi, which lies about 115 kilometers away from Jakarta, a police officer said. He added that they have been identified as EA (30), PP (25), CS (38), MZ (23), YY (38), IK (51), and HD (33).
CS and MZ were apprehended in Cikundulgirang village, Lembursitu sub-district, early in the morning on May 12, said Police Adjunct Chief Commissioner Ari Setyawan Wibowo, chief of the Sukabumi City Police, on Tuesday.
The week-long raid resulted in the seizure of methamphetamine weighing 1.99 kilograms, and the majority of the drugs were confiscated from CS and MZ, he informed.
Police officers confiscated Rp475,000 in cash, two motorcycles, two digital weighing scales, and a set of bongs, which were used to consume meth, he said, adding that the suspects face charges under Articles 112 and 114 of Law Number 35 of 2009 on Drugs, which carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Drug trafficking still poses a threat to Indonesia, as domestic and transnational drug dealers consider the country to be 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), and the number of drug trafficking cases continues 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.
Users of crystal methamphetamine, narcotics, marijuana, and other types of addictive drugs can belong to any community and socioeconomic or cultural background.
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Translator: Aditia AR, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Anton Santoso
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