Ecstasy now produced locally: Informed sources

JAKARTA (JP): Ecstasy pills are now produced locally, with the main substance coming from imported pills, informed sources have said.

Most Ecstasy pills circulated here are products of illicit "home industries" in residential areas, said the sources who asked for anonymity. "One is reportedly located in the Puncak resort area," one of the men added.

The producers divide one Ecstasy pill into three parts, which are then mixed with other substances and reproduced into three new pills. "The locally made pills are not of course as strong as the original ones," he said.

Substances in the local products vary. "Producers may use an amphetamine or another ingredient they call elsit, which is known to be stronger," he said.

The men, students of Jakarta-based universities, said that the local pills are sold for about Rp 60,000 each, while the imported varieties are Rp 120,000.

"One can make a profit of Rp 60,000 from three pills produced from a pill bought for Rp 120,000. It's a big business," another of the men said.

Several types of Ecstasy pills are illegally marketed in Indonesia. They are, among others, Purple, Eva, Snow White and Pink and Blackheart, which is the most popular now.

Noted Criminologist Mulyana W. Kusumah earlier said that the locally-made pills could be even more dangerous to users. "A user who takes only one pill will be impatient waiting for the reaction. Then he or she might take another pill, then another after the effect of the two pills taken before is too slow," he said.

One of the sources said he agreed with the criminologist's theory, saying yesterday that a user's body cannot bear the reaction of five or six pills.

Asked about smuggling the contraband into the country, the sources said to do so is a big mistake.

On Wednesday, the customs and excise officers at the Central Post Office in Pasar Baru, Central Jakarta, foiled an attempt to import 2,000 Ecstasy pills by postal service from the Netherlands. It was the first known time Ecstasy was sent to Jakarta from the Netherlands by mail.

With the latest finding, Jakarta customs and excise officers have confiscated a total of 90,308 Ecstasy pills since March.

The sources said that the amount of Ecstasy would probably decline in market as heroin use is on the rise. Heroin, popularly called as Pu tau, is reportedly imported from Thailand. It costs Rp 300,000 per gram. (sur)