2.3 kgs of heroin seized in Bali
2.3 kgs of heroin seized in Bali
Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar
Denpasar Municipality Police detectives recently arrested two
alleged heroin traffickers from South Africa, and seized 2.3
kilograms of heroin from them, a senior police officer said on
Monday.
The seizure of the 2.3 kilograms of heroin, which had an
estimated street value of Rp 2 billion (US$ 212,765), was the
biggest police heroin bust of the past two years, said Denpasar
Municipal Police deputy chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Dewa Parsana.
The two suspects were still refusing to talk as of Monday --
six days after they had been arrested on Tuesday of last week --
so that the police had not been able to elicit much information
from them, Parsana conceded.
"We are still in the dark as to how they smuggled the heroin
to Indonesia, where they got it and what sort of network they
have," said Parsana.
The police officer told reporters during a press conference
that the police had become suspicious that the two South African
nationals -- John Gabriele, 37, and Martin Christopher, 40 --
were drug traffickers one month ago.
However, the police did not arrest them immediately for lack
of evidence. On Tuesday of last week, the police followed them to
a hotel in the Petitenget Kuta area. Police detectives were
certain that the two had drugs in their possession.
Police raided their hotel room on the same night and
discovered the 2.3 kilograms of heroin.
The heroin powder was packed in 20 small plastic packages that
were hidden in a can of Extraderm skin lotion, a Cream Crackers
biscuit can and a Cadburys chocolate can. The cans were in a
suitcase.
"All the heroin is first class and pure -- each gram is worth
Rp 1 million (US$106.3)," said Parsana.
Parsana commented that the arrests proved that Bali was now a
distribution center and not merely a transit point. "The heroin
was packed in plastic packages and they were ready for sale
here," said Parsana.
The two suspects have been charged under the Narcotics Law
with drug trafficking, which carries the death penalty.
This seizure was the biggest since June two years ago, when
police arrested Alphones Simbolon and seized 2.2 kilograms of
heroin powder from him.