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)