Ecstasy pill makers arrested

JAKARTA (JP): Police arrested two men believed to be producers of Ecstasy pills in their rented apartment at Rajawali in Central Jakarta late on Friday, an officer said.

Central Jakarta police precinct chief Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna said after the arrest the two suspects, identified as Toni Tantowi, 24, and Anton, 18, both residents of Plumpang in North Jakarta, were apprehended in their room on the 18th floor of the apartment.

From their room, police confiscated hundreds of Ecstasy pills, machines used to produce the pills, a number of generic drugs, a manual book and raw materials for Ecstasy pill production.

The Ecstasy pills were made from a mixture of Nipam (a low grade heroin in pill form) and shabu-shabu (a low grade heroin in powder form) with daily production reaching 1,000 to 2,000 pills.

During the preliminary questioning, the two admitted that the pills they produced were distributed in big cities, like Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya.

In Jakarta the two directly went to several discotheques to offer their product to visitors at Rp 18,000 (US$2.4) per pill.

The price was relatively cheaper than Ecstasy pills produced by other larger drug manufacturers which were sold at an average of Rp 75,000 each.

"The quality is poor as many customers have complained the pills were musty," Toni told police.

They also admitted that they have operated their illegal business since August and had to rent a room in the Rajawali apartment as a production site to avoid any possible suspicions.

Iman said that police got a tip-off about the suspects' activities from neighbors. (emf)