Five nabbed in drugs haul

JAKARTA (JP): The Police have arrested four men and one woman for illegally possessing and trafficking more than two kilograms of marijuana.

A City Police Headquarters source said over the weekend that one of the men had smuggled the 2.5 kilograms of marijuana from Johor, Malaysia.

"The man bought it for around 900 Malaysian Ringgit (US$357) per kilogram," he said.

He said the man, identified as An, aged 35, smuggled the drug to Batam Island by speedboat and then took it to Jakarta by land.

Police said An claimed that it was the first time he had ever sold the drug.

"I bought it on request from someone I knew here," police quoted An as saying.

Police arrested An on Friday night when he was about to make a deal with a man identified as Saf in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta.

Saf, aged 34, who was also arrested by the police, denied he was the buyer. He said that he was just collecting a consignment ordered by another man.

According to An, the marijuana could be sold for around Rp 3.5 million (US$1,428) here. "It tastes better than the local Aceh marijuana," said An, who used to work in Malaysia.

The other three people, including An's wife Nur, were arrested Saturday in Villa Pamulang, Tangerang, West Java, after police questioned An and Saf.

In a later confession, however, An said that he sold marijuana because he could make a lot of money from it.

"This is a promising business. I can make up to Rp 5 million by smuggling two kilograms of marijuana," police quoted him as saying.

An said that he did not face any trouble on his trip from Johor to Indonesia. "No officers questioned me. No one suspected I was bringing the drugs into the country via the two-hour trip to Batam Island," An was quoted as saying.

An and his four accomplices are being detained for further questioning. (cst)