Gen. Sutanto leads raid on massive ecstasy plant<\/p>\n
Police discovered what they believe to be the world's third
\nlargest ecstasy factory ever found on Friday in Kampung Tegal,
\nSerang, Banten, in an operation directly led by National Police
\nchief Gen. Sutanto, Antara reported.<\/p>\n
The police arrested 13 people, including foreign nationals
\nfrom France, the Netherlands and China, whose identities are
\nbeing kept secret to facilitate follow-up investigations.<\/p>\n
Sutanto said the police were hunting a man identified as Benny
\nSudrajat, who is believed to have run the factory. Benny is on
\nthe police's most wanted list.<\/p>\n
The factory contained around 62.4 tons of precurser chemicals
\nfor producing crystal methamphetamine, locally known as shabu-
\nshabu and 6.2 tons of precurser chemicals for making ecstasy, as
\nwell as thousands of ecstasy pills and hundreds of kilograms of
\nshabu-shabu ready for delivery to Hong Kong.<\/p>\n
The plant stands on four hectares in an area bordering Lebak
\nregency, located some 80 kilometers west of Jakarta.<\/p>\n
It was the largest success recorded so far by the National
\nPolice, which has made the war on drugs one of its top priorities
\nsince Sutanto took office in July.<\/p>\n
Sutanto said the police began to watch the plant in May.<\/p>\n
\"Our suspicions first arose when we discovered an arrival of
\nmodern equipment from overseas. Since then, we intensified our
\ninvestigations, culminating in the raid on the plant,\" Sutanto
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Sutanto, formerly the chief of the National Narcotics Agency,
\nsaid the factory was the third largest in the world after ecstasy
\nfactories found in Fiji and China.<\/p>\n
Serious drug offenses carry the death penalty in Indonesia. An
\nIndian national and two Thai nationals were executed last year,
\nwhile a number of domestic and foreign prisoners are currently on
\ndeath row for drug-related crimes. -- Antara<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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