Police arrested two male suspects, identified only as D, 36, and S, 45, said Adjunct Senior Commissioner Parikhesit, head of Subdirectorate 2 at the Jakarta Metropolitan Police narcotics unit.
The investigation began after police received a public tip on Saturday, Jan. 24, regarding suspected drug trafficking in the Tanah Tinggi area of Tangerang City, Parikhesit said on Tuesday.
Following the report, officers conducted surveillance that led them to the first crime scene outside State Elementary School 6 on Nyimas Melati Street, Tangerang District, he added.
At around 1:45 p.m. local time, police arrested suspect D while he was inside a car parked near the school, Parikhesit said.
A search of the vehicle uncovered multiple packages of methamphetamine wrapped in Chinese tea packaging, along with Happy Five pills, according to the police statement.
Evidence seized from D included four large meth packages and several smaller ones, 5,000 Happy Five pills, an electronic scale, handwritten notes and several mobile phones.
Based on an analysis of the evidence, investigators expanded the case to a second location later that afternoon, Parikhesit said.
At about 3:00 p.m., police arrested suspect S at a house on Halim Perdana Kusuma Street in Jurumudi Lama, Benda Subdistrict, Tangerang City, during a follow-up raid.
During the follow-up raid, officers searching a bedroom found 20 packages of methamphetamine inside a suitcase, all wrapped in Guanyinwang-brand Chinese tea packaging, he said.
Police also discovered equipment believed to have been used to break down and repackage narcotics for distribution, Parikhesit added.
The seized drugs, weighing a total of 27.168 kilograms, are estimated to be worth 41.7 billion rupiah and to have potentially spared about 140,000 people from drug abuse, he said.
Both suspects and all evidence have been taken to Jakarta Metropolitan Police headquarters for further investigation, he said.
Indonesia enforces some of the world's toughest drug laws, with major traffickers facing life imprisonment or the death penalty.
Despite these strict penalties, the country remains a lucrative market for drug syndicates, driven by its large population.
The nation's drug trade is valued at an estimated 66 trillion rupiah (US$4.3 billion), according to the National Narcotics Agency (BNN).
A BNN survey estimates that 3.4 million Indonesians use drugs —roughly 180 out of every 10,000 people aged 15 to 64.
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Translator: Ilham K, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Arie Novarina
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