'Captain Ecstasy' to face tribunal

YOGYAKARTA: A police captain detained for allegedly possessing 360 Ecstasy tablets may be court martialled, according to the local military chief.

Maj. Gen. Mardiyanto, chief of the Diponegoro regional military command who oversees security in Central Java and Yogyakarta, said Tuesday that the officer was still being questioned.

"We want to investigate this case thoroughly and you will see it later in court," Mardiyanto told reporters.

Captain Suko Hariyanto was arrested on July 3 on charges of illegally possessing 360 Ecstasy pills that police had seized from dealers and users in several raids.

Yogyakarta military chief Col. A.R. Gaffar has said that one of eight witnesses has admitted to investigators that he bought Ecstasy pills from the captain. This, Gaffar said, suggested that the captain was part of a syndicate.

Suko came under suspicion after an unsuccessful drug raid on an amusement center. Police found no tablets at the center allegedly because the captain had leaked news of the planned operation to drug dealers.

The police have questioned nine people, including a chief sergeant, over the case. (23)