Drugstore owner busted for selling marijuana
Drugstore owner busted for selling marijuana
JAKARTA (JP): Police have arrested a man who used his
traditional medicine shop on Jl. Sahardjo in Tebet, South
Jakarta, as a front for drug dealing, an officer said yesterday.
The head of the city police Narcotics Detective Unit Lt. Col.
Abdullah said Syaiful Bachri, 27, was caught red-handed selling
marijuana to a plainclothes officer at his shop Sunday afternoon.
Police confiscated three kilograms of dried marijuana stored
under a wooden bed in his shop.
The undercover police officer, First Lt. Heru Supriyanto, told
reporters that Syaiful offered him the marijuana for Rp 1.7
million (US$130) per kilogram.
"It's quite amazing because usually in the market, especially
in South Jakarta, the price of dried marijuana is more than Rp 2
million per kilogram," he said.
"He was offering me a kilo. Then we chatted for a while and he
agreed to make the deal," Heru recalled.
During questioning, Syaiful admitted to having been involved
in drug dealing for about two years.
"He said he obtained the marijuana from another dealer named
Ali in Pasar Minggu (South Jakarta)," Abdullah explained, adding
that police were still tracking down the whereabouts of the
latter man.
Syaiful himself had been under police surveillance for three
months and that he had been spotted in Depok by police
detectives, he said.
"We believe that he was also a dealer for students, whose
campuses are scattered along the Margonda area of Depok,"
Abdullah said.
Last month, police arrested three drug dealers at Kalibata
Mall in South Jakarta with five kilograms of dried marijuana
wrapped in newspaper inside a blue bag.
The three admitted to having been involved in the business for
about three months due to the alluring price of marijuana here
compared to in their hometown in Aceh.
"In many cases, dried marijuana is transported into the
capital by boat and car. We're currently coordinating with the
Aceh police and port officers to crack down on the trade,"
Abdullah added. (edt)