Drug dealers arrested in separate raids

JAKARTA (JP): The city police busted five Ecstasy dealers and traders of the popular amphetamine derivative shabu-shabu in three separate raids late last week.

The latest raid, on Saturday, netted drug trafficker, Kislam, 30, at a building on Jl. Kramat Sentiong in Central Jakarta.

City police detectives chief Col. Gories Mere said Kislam, who had been under police surveillance for months, was caught red- handed with two grams of shabu-shabu.

Based on his information, police raided a house belonging to his supplier on Jl. Pangeran Jayakarta, Mangga Dua Selatan subdistrict. There officers found 2,400 Ecstasy pills, 17 grams of dried marijuana and 27 grams of shabu-shabu.

The owner, Awi, alias Kumis, was not on the premises at the time, Gories said.

The shabu-shabu seized from Kumis' home was a first class type, popularly known as Blue Safire, which has a street price of Rp 10 million (US$860) per gram, an officer said.

During interrogation, Kislam vowed that he never consumed any of the drugs.

"I traded the drugs only because I needed the money for my family," he told reporters.

On Friday evening, detectives captured three suspected dealers, Eric, A Yong and Andre, at Stadium discotheque on Jl. Hayam Wuruk in West Jakarta.

"The three were caught red-handed with a total of 120 Ecstasy pills in their possession," the head of city police Narcotics Detective Unit, Lt. Col. Abdullah, said.

Hours later, another alleged drug dealer, identified as Frans, was arrested at a boarding house in Mangga Besar, Central Jakarta. Fifty Ecstasy pills found in a drawer in his room.

According to Abdullah, police have suspected the four of being Ecstasy dealers for quite some time.

"We will continue to run drugs operations to crack down on the drug-dealing network," he added.

All the suspects were detained at the city police headquarters pending further investigation. (edt)