3.6 kilograms of heroin destroyed

TANGERANG (JP): The local prosecutor's office destroyed yesterday 3.6 kilograms of heroin, worth about Rp 5 billion (US$1.25 million), which was smuggled into the country by three Myanmarese nationals.

The drugs went up in flames at the state-owned Research & Technology Center in Serpong under the supervision of Abdul Hakim Ritonga, head of the prosecutor's office.

High-ranking officials, including those from the Ministry of Health, also witnessed the authorized destruction of police evidence.

The state-owned site was chosen for its distance from residential areas in a bid to avoid any unforeseen side effects.

The head of the office's general crime section, Djaludin, said the heroin was first offered to the local health office but the drug was rejected because it had "expired".

"The health office gave the heroin back to us after it learned that the drugs could no longer be used for human purposes."

But the office's head of special crime, Suhaemi, rejected his colleague's remarks.

"The refusal was not because it had expired but based on existing Law No. 22/1997 on psychotropic substances which states that all confiscated evidence must be destroyed."

Suhaemi said the heroin had not been sent to the health office because the prosecutor's office had received a letter from a "higher institution" ordering that the drugs be destroyed.

The three heroin smugglers have been sentenced to life in prison.

Earlier this week, the office destroyed 104,919 Ecstasy pills and 6.9 kilograms of marijuana -- worth more than Rp 4 billion -- which were also smuggled into the country. (41/bsr)