The eight drug mules, identified by their initials as VH, M, AN, KT, SR, H, S, and JS, are suspected to belong to Indonesia-Malaysia drug rings, head of customs and excise, Southern Sulawesi office, Djaka Kusmartata, said.
They were nabbed at Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport during joint operations involving customs and excise, police, and National Narcotics Agency (BNN) personnel, he told local journalists.
The crystal meth confiscated from them on May 25–27 and June 14 is estimated to be worth more than Rp2.42 billion, he said, adding that six of the eight couriers are women.
The drug seizure likely saved more than ten thousand people from getting dragged into drug abuse and addiction, Kurmartata added.
The suspects took Air Asia (AK 334) and Malaysia Airlines (MH 847) flights from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to reach South Sulawesi’s Makassar city.
To smuggle the drugs, the suspects resorted to the body-strapping method, which involves tactics such as hiding drugs in underpants lining or shoes.
As reported earlier, drug lords still see Indonesia as 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 about Rp66 trillion (around US$4.3 billion).
Hence, Indonesia has seen drug addiction spiral into a life-threatening problem for millions of its people.
A survey conducted by the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) pegs the number of drug users in Indonesia at 3.4 million.
As per the survey, around 180 out of every 10 thousand Indonesians, aged between 15 and 64 years, have fallen prey to drug addiction.
Translator: M.Darwin F, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Aditya Eko Sigit Wicaksono
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