Ecstasy in East Java

SURABAYA, East Java: Provincial Police Chief Maj. Gen. Sumarsono said that the designer drug Ecstasy, now widely circulating throughout Indonesia, entered here through Bali from countries such as Australia and Germany, Antara reported yesterday.

Sumarsono then apologized to the press for having to cover up many facts about drug trafficking in the province. "The police and journalists are partners. But I'm sorry, there are many things related to Ecstasy which cannot be disclosed," he said.

Police have been intensifying their campaign against drugs -- especially Ecstasy -- in the tourism island of Bali.

Only last week, police arrested four people for attempting to smuggle in more than 45,000 Ecstasy pills worth over Rp 4.5 billion (US$2 million).

Police identified the suspects as Isac Thayeb, 43, from Ujungpandang, who was in possession of 30,464 pills; Bob Said, 38, from Amsterdam, with 100 pills; Dartono, 35, from Medan, with 9,771 pills; and Wirht Wesley Delano, 41, from Suriname, with 5,635 pills.

Earlier this month, Denpasar police confiscated 20,781 Ecstasy pills at the Bali Ngurah Rai International Airport. (swe)