The suspects were identified as FH (28), MH (38), G (41), and K (41), West Sumatra police spokesperson, Sen. Coms. Dwi Sulistyawan, told journalists here on Wednesday.
FH and MH, both residents of Padang city, were nabbed after local police personnel intercepted their vehicle on a road section of Taruang-taruang in Rao sub-district, Pasaman district, West Sumatra.
The police personnel found two rice bags containing around 40 packs of dried cannabis inside the vehicle, he said.
Following FH and MH's arrest, police apprehended G and K — both residents of Panyabungan in Mandailing Natal district, North Sumatra — on Panti Road in Pasaman Barat district, West Sumatra, he informed.
According to Sulistyawan, the drug traffickers planned to deliver the drugs to their networks in Padang city and Pasaman Barat district, from where they were to be traded in West Sumatra.
Domestic and transnational drug dealers consider Indonesia to be 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$4.2 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 using drugs.
Those using crystal methamphetamine, narcotics, marijuana, and other addictive drugs can belong to any community and socioeconomic and cultural background.
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Translator: R.Laila, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Tia Mutiasari
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