Police said MS is the brain behind several narcotics smuggling activities into Indonesia, and he controlled the smuggling from Riau IslandsBatam, Riau Island (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian National Narcotics Board, along with the Malaysian police, have arrested Indonesian citizen, MS, believed to be kingpin from the international network that supplied narcotics to Indonesia, on Wednesday.
"MS is the brain behind several narcotics smuggling activities into Indonesia. We arrested him in the Riau Island territorial waters, when he was deported from Malaysia due to residency issues. He controlled the smuggling from Riau Islands," stated Director of Repression and Persecution of National Narcotics Board Senior Commissioner Jan de Fretes in Batam, on Thursday.
De Fretes noted that MSs network had smuggled 4.45 kilograms of heroin and 1.66 kilograms of methamphetamine to Indonesia through Batam from the sea.
MS is an Indonesian migrant worker from Bawean, East Java who worked and stayed in Malaysia for a long time. That network also involves a Nigerian citizen staying in Malaysia.
"Before arresting MS, we collaborated with the Narcotics Police of Riau Islands and the Customs Office who have arrested three smugglers in these territories, belonging to MSs network," de Fretes explained.
The first member from the network arrested was AS, who had smuggled 750 grams of heroin in December 2012. The board, then also arrested Uun, a smuggler who had taken 3.7 kilograms heroin from Malaysia in January 2013.
On October 2013, the board arrested DR with 1.661 kilograms methamphetamine, as he was entering Indonesia through Batam International Port. DR admitted to having smuggled narcotics into Indonesia through Batam four times.
De Fretes pointed out that the breadth of the Indonesian territorial waters in Riau Islands was the hot spot for the international narcotics network to smuggle heroin and methamphetamine from Malaysia.
"The rise of narcotics being smuggled from Malaysia through Batam is a serious concern of the National Narcotics Board," he admitted.
He added that the smugglers had been involved in meddling with Article 132 Paragraph 1, Article 114 Paragraph 2, Article 113 Paragraph 2, and Article 112 Paragraph 2 of Law Number 35/2009 on Narcotics, which attracts a threat of capital punishment or life imprisonment.
"Now that we have arrested the kingpin, we will continue to attack other narcotics networks," assured de Fretes.
Head of Narcotics Police of Riau Islands Senior Commissioner Agus Rohmat is of the hope that the disclosure of the narcotics network may reduce the supply of heroin and methamphetamine to Indonesia through Batam.
"With this disclosure, we hope to instill fear among the network where smuggling narcotics to Indonesia is concerned," Agus retorted.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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