BBN raids another drug lab in Tangerang

BBN raids another drug lab in Tangerang

Yogita Tahilramani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The National Narcotics Agency (BBN), with the help of police
detectives, raided on Wednesday another drug laboratory producing
ecstasy pills in the Cipondoh area of Tangerang, seizing, among
other things, around 700 kilograms of raw materials used in the
production of ecstasy, a cooling tank and a distillation machine.

The BNN's chief, Comr. Gen. Nurfaizi, said on Wednesday that
the second drug laboratory was located just one kilometer away
from the one raided last week and was owned by the same man, Ang
Kiem Soei alias Anche Tahir alias Kim Ho alias Tommy Wijaya, 31.
Both laboratories were capable of producing ecstasy pills in
large quantities.

"These pills are in extremely high demand in the capital,"
Nurfaizi told reporters on Wednesday.

The police had earlier seized about 8,400 ecstasy pills from
Ang Kiem's first laboratory, which had the capacity of producing
some 150,000 pills daily, along with illicit chemicals used in
the making of the pills.

Ang Kiem has been pursued by narcotics detectives since 1998
and holds both a Dutch passport and an Indonesian identification
card, which was reportedly issued in Irian Jaya.

The sudden arrest, however, has been met with cynicism by
critics and police observers, since the existence and locations
of both ecstasy-producing laboratories were allegedly known for a
long time to local police, and National Police Headquarters.

National Police deputy spokesman Brig. Gen. Edward Aritonang
has said that the pills were in high demand, and that they "sold
out" in nightclubs and discos each month, earning the producers
hundreds of billions of rupiah.

Material seized from the factory included MDMA
(Methylenedioxymethamphetamine), which is Ecstasy before it is
made into a capsule or pill.

MDMA or Ecstasy is a synthetic, psychoactive drug possessing
stimulant and hallucinogenic properties. MDMA is taken orally,
usually in tablet or capsule form, and its effects last from
approximately four to six hours. Users of the drug say that it
produces profoundly positive feelings, empathy for others,
elimination of anxiety and extreme relaxation.

MDMA is also said to suppress the need to eat, drink, or
sleep, enabling users to endure two- to three-day parties.

Consequently, MDMA use sometimes results in severe dehydration
or exhaustion. It is most often distributed at late-night parties
called "raves", and in nightclubs and rock concerts.