Man arrested with 25,750 Ecstasy pills<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Police have detained a man for allegedly being
\ninvolved in the smuggling of 25,750 Ecstasy pills and 15 grams of
\nEcstasy powder from Europe to Indonesia, a customs official said
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
The head of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport's Customs
\nInspection Office, Nisfu Chasbullah, said the man, identified
\nonly as ST, was arrested on Aug. 31 when he arrived at Terminal D
\nto pick up an abandoned suitcase which contained drugs.<\/p>\n
During questioning, ST claimed that he was only acting as a
\ncourier. He said his boss, identified as AS, asked him to
\nretrieve the suitcase from the airport.<\/p>\n
Nisfu said: \"The police are still looking for AS who is
\nalleged to be the main suspect and owner of the illicit drugs.\"<\/p>\n
He said it was believed that AS carried the suitcase on board
\nthe Singapore Airlines flight from Brussels to Jakarta via
\nCopenhagen and Singapore on Aug. 24.<\/p>\n
\"The suitcase was left at the arrival terminal and kept by
\ncustoms officers at the lost and found section after no one
\nclaimed it as their own.\"<\/p>\n
The customs officers suspected that the suitcase contained
\nsome illicit drugs after an X-ray inspection.<\/p>\n
Nisfu said the drugs were hidden in the bottom of the suitcase
\nand the pills were covered with fiberglass and aluminum foil.<\/p>\n
He said the confiscated drugs constituted his office's biggest
\nhaul of smuggled Ecstasy pills this year.<\/p>\n
\"So far this year we have confiscated a total of 320 grams of
\nmorphine, 2.98 kilograms of hashish and 43,481 Ecstasy pills --
\nincluding the latest seized pills -- smuggled through the
\nairport.\"<\/p>\n
The total haul was confiscated from three foreigners holding
\nSouth African, Nepalese and Singaporean passports as well as two
\nIndonesians, he said.<\/p>\n
Transaction<\/p>\n
In an unrelated incident, two other men were also arrested in
\nCentral Jakarta on Monday for allegedly trying to sell more than
\n300 Ecstasy pills worth about Rp 15 million (US$5,000).<\/p>\n
City Police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang said yesterday
\nthat one of the two suspects, Franky, 26, was shot in the leg
\nduring the raid because he attacked police and tried to flee.<\/p>\n
Franky and his accomplice Edi, 21, were arrested on Jl. Batu
\nTulis, Gambir, about 1 p.m. while making a deal with undercover
\nofficers.<\/p>\n
\"Franky was in such a panic, when he realized that he had sold
\nthe drugs to undercover cops, that he picked up a table leg and
\nthrew it toward the officer before running away,\" Aritonang said.
\n\"The undercover officer had no choice but to shoot him.\"<\/p>\n
He said that both Franky and Edi were believed to have been
\nselling drugs for a while.<\/p>\n
Aritonang said the police were still interrogating the two men
\nfor details on their operation and network.<\/p>\n
The confiscated Ecstasy pills -- Sun and Superman brands --
\nwere all sealed in small plastic bags with 10 pills per pack.<\/p>\n
This type of Ecstasy pill has a street value of about Rp
\n50,000.<\/p>\n
Aritonang said that people involved in Ecstasy trafficking
\nviolated Article 59 of the 1997 Psychotropic Law Number 5 for
\nillegally using, possessing, producing and distributing drugs.<\/p>\n
If found guilty, an offender faces four to 15 years
\nimprisonment and a fine ranging from Rp 150 million to Rp 750
\nmillion. (cst\/41)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/man-arrested-with-25750-ecstasy-pills-1447893297",
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