'Candy wrapper' drug gangs broken up
Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Jakarta Police announced on Thursday they had broken up four syndicates dealing drugs concealed in candy wrappers, arresting 10 suspects and seizing 1,065 ecstasy pills in a week-long operation last month.
"The technique is quite new and could have really baffled us," drug squad officer Adj. Sr. Comr. Anjan Pramuka Putra said.
A month-long investigation to break up the operations started with a tip from the public, he said.
Anjan said the suspects also used other food packages besides candy wrappers to sell the drugs, including powdered milk packages.
"Each candy wrapper could contain between five and 10 ecstasy pills," he said. A powdered milk package, meanwhile, could contain up to 100 grams of crystal methamphetamine, a low-grade heroin known on the streets as shabu-shabu.
The first arrest made by the police was of Lusiana, alias Lusi, 28, on Aug. 17. They seized 340 ecstasy pills and 100 grams of shabu-shabu from the suspect, plus a laminating machine the woman allegedly used to reseal the candy wrappers.
That same day, police arrested Ken Soni Sori, 25, on Jl. Mangga Besar Raya in West Jakarta with 100 ecstasy pills. The suspect is the alleged member of a syndicate
Police later arrested alleged syndicate members Ratono, 28, and Tiu Siu, alias Aan, 35. Agus Ali, alias Aceng, 51, was arrested the following day. Officers confiscated a total of 747 ecstasy pills, 1,120 grams of caffeine powder and pill-making equipment from the suspects.
A third syndicate allegedly led by a suspect identified as Sugiman was then broken up when police apprehended Amirudin, 47, with 50 ecstasy pills. That arrest led to the arrests of Hengky Kardyanto and Sugiman, who were nabbed with 214 ecstasy pills and 34 grams of shabu-shabu.
Police then broke up a fourth syndicate allegedly led by Khowin, alias Iin, 47, who was apprehended along with Yohanes, alias Alim, 47, and Harry Sanjaya, 20. Officers seized 104 ecstasy pills from the suspects.
Anjan said all of the suspects would be charged with violating Law No. 5/1997 on psychotropic drugs, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in jail and a Rp 200 million (US$21,739) fine.
Jakarta Police arrested 634 suspects in 502 drug-related cases in August, and confiscated a total of 3,209 ecstasy pills, 74,841 grams of marijuana, 1,876 grams of heroin and 629 grams of shabu- shabu.