9,264 Ecstasy pills destroyed

TANGERANG (JP): Soekarno-Hatta International Airport's customs office destroyed another 9,264 Ecstasy pills worth about Rp 465 million (US$166,000) yesterday.

The office head, Nifsu Chasbullah, said the pills, wrapped in 11 packs, were confiscated at the airport on Sept. 10 and Sept. 19.

Nifsu explained that the pills, which were of the Butterfly and Omega types, were destroyed after his office failed to trace the owners.

"In line with the existing procedure, we announced the stranded goods at the airport. But after more than one month, no one claimed them so that we decided to burn them," he said.

He said that the pills were part of the psychotropic drugs confiscated in 22 cases in the 1996/1997 period.

The Tangerang Prosecutor's Office on Dec. 2 burned 104,919 Ecstasy pills worth about Rp 4 billion, which were smuggled into the country.

The destruction was the largest ever conducted in the country. The pills had been used as evidence in 23 trials at Tangerang District Court.

Present at yesterday's destruction ceremony were Soepriadji, inspector general of customs and excise; Mulyono MS, Soekarno- Hatta Airport administrator; Lt. Col. Gordon Siadari, head of detectives for narcotics and banned drugs; and Maj. Herman Hamid, deputy chief of the Tangerang Police precinct. (41/hhr)