29,872 ecstasy pills seized in Medan

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

Medan Police raided a two-story shop-house on Jl. Brig. Gen. Katamso, Medan, North Sumatra, and seized 29,872 ecstasy pills on Friday night.

Police barged into the shop-house, believed to have functioned as a place to produce drugs, just one day after they arrested Amri, 62, and his son Hasim Lukman, 35, both residents of Taman Setia Budi Indah housing complex, for the possession of 6,109 ecstasy pills.

During questioning, Amri and Hasim refused to reveal the source of the drugs, but people around the shop-house told police investigators that a certain Apin, the shop-house owner, was the producer of the drugs.

"Members of the public are upset about drug distribution in their neighborhood. So acting on reports by local residents, we conducted a one-week investigation and decided to take immediate steps," Medan Police chief of detectives Adj. Comr. Maruli Siahaan said on Saturday.

Maruli, who led the raid, said that police arrested Apin alias Lim Bun Pin, 25, along with accomplices Mei Chen alias Leni, 24, a resident of Jl. Merbau, Ayen alias Haini, 39, a resident of Jl. Sei Mencirim, and Syamsul Gani, 52, a resident of Jl. Sutrisno.

The suspects allegedly managed to destroyed 8,000 ecstasy pills when the police arrived.

The police also seized one machine used to mold the drugs and raw material in the form of powder.

Apin reportedly confessed to police investigators that he had been producing drugs for five months and that the drugs were distributed in North Sumatra, Jakarta and Bandung.

Police claimed that he said he could produce hundreds of ecstasy pills of different kinds and brands. Apin apparently sold the drugs at different prices depending on brand and purity.

"I obtain the raw materials from a friend in Jakarta," Apin said, adding that he had earned hundreds of millions rupiah from selling ecstasy.

Maruli said that the seizure of 29,872 ecstasy pills was the biggest drug bust this year in Medan.

He also said that the police would extend their investigation into the case.

"There is a possibility that (foreign) drug networks are operating in Indonesia," he said without elaborating.