Babel Police Detain 29 Tanjung Bunga Tin Sand Miners in Drug Crackdown
A joint team from the Bangka Belitung (Babel) Regional Police and the Pangkalpinang City Police detained 29 mine workers in the Tanjung Bunga Beach area of Pangkalpinang City on Thursday (23/7).
The arrests were made after urine tests showed that dozens of the tin sand miners had tested positive for narcotics consumption.
Pangkalpinang Police Chief Commissioner Indra Wijatmiko said the anti-drug operation targeting the mining area deployed dozens of joint personnel.
Besides the Regional Police and City Police, the raid also involved the Pangkalpinang City Narcotics Agency (BNK), the Civil Service Police Unit (Satpol PP), and the Military Police of the Army.
“Today we tested 81 workers, and 29 of them tested positive for various types of drugs, including crystal methamphetamine and inex,” said Indra.
He explained that the operation was carried out to eradicate the illicit circulation of narcotics and to prevent the harmful effects of illegal drug use in the mining work environment.
“The purpose of this operation is to crack down on drug users. In my observation, when people work at sea, we must prevent drug use, for fear that when someone is under the influence of narcotics, it could result in workplace accidents,” he said.
“We remain committed to fighting drug abuse and narcotics trafficking. This is a serious concern so that Pangkalpinang City can be free from drug abuse,” he continued.
After testing positive, the dozens of mine workers were immediately taken to the Pangkalpinang Police Headquarters for further questioning.
Meanwhile, the Head of the Public Relations Division of the Babel Regional Police, Commissioner Agus Sugiyarso, confirmed the anti-drug operation at the mining site in the Pangkalpinang area. The operation was led directly by the Pangkalpinang Police Chief together with the Narcotics Directorate of the Babel Regional Police.
“Yes, that is correct. Today there was a joint raid by the Regional Police and City Police regarding narcotics enforcement at a mining site, precisely in the Tanjung Bunga Beach area of Temberan Subdistrict, Bukit Intan District, Pangkalpinang,” said Agus.
In addition to conducting the raid and urine tests, the joint team from the Babel Regional Police and Pangkalpinang City Police also provided outreach and warnings to the miners about the latent dangers of drug abuse.