Four arrested with 176 kg of marijuana in Jakarta

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

City police arrested Friday evening four suspected members of a drug syndicate and confiscated 176 kilograms of cannabis in their possession.

City police spokesman Sr. Comr. Tjiptono said on Saturday detectives from the city police acted on a tip that a transaction was about to take place at the Minang Asih Restaurant on Jl. Raya Buncit, South Jakarta.

"We then stationed 11 undercover detectives around the location to be ready for the transaction. One of the detectives pretended to be a driver while others observed the situation," he said.

At around 8:00 p.m., a minivan arrived in the location, and two people got out from the car and entered the restaurant to meet two others, Tjiptono said.

Police checked the car and found four boxes inside.

"We checked the content inside and found 87 kg of marijuana. We subsequently arrested the four people in the restaurant," he said.

The four, identified as Marjuki, Himainan Adi, T. Rinaldi Abdullah, and Saifudin, then told police they were storing 89 kg of marijuana in a house on Jl. Raya Tonjong, Bojong Gede, Bogor, West Java.

"We search the house and found 89 kg of marijuana also packed in boxes," Tjiptono said.

The four are now detained at the city police headquarters.

The arrest was the latest in series of antidrug raids across the capital, which have resulted in a spate of arrests for drug dealing and trafficking.

In a month-long campaign from March 22 to April 22, city police apprehended at least 761 people, including four foreigners, and confiscated over 368 kilograms of marijuana, 275 grams of heroin, 857 grams of crystal methampetamine (shabu shabu), and over 1,700 ecstasy pills.

Among the people arrested, 347 people were alleged drug dealers while 404 others were classified as drug users. The four foreigners included three Chinese nationals.

A suspected Nepalese drug trafficker identified as Man Sing Gale, 40, was shot dead last Wednesday by the police after he resisted arrest in Bekasi, West Java. Police recovered 1.25 kilograms of heroin, 276 grams of cocaine, 500 ecstasy pills and a firearm in the raid.

On April 4, police shot dead big-time drug trafficker Filip Widjajanto, 46, in a raid on his factory in Jasinga, Bogor. In the raid, police confiscated machines that were able to produce thousands of pills a day.

Big drug cases revealed in April

No. Date Cases Suspects Evidence

1. 4 Ecstasy factory Filip Widjajanto Factory able to

produce thousands

of ecstasy pills

2. 22 Trafficking 761 traffickers 275 grams of heroin

and users 857 grams of shabu

shabu, 1,700 pills 3. 26 Trafficking Man Sing Gale, 1,25 kg of heroin,

a Nepalese 276 grams of

cocaine

500 ecstasy pills 4. 27 Trafficking Sugiyanto, Deni 664.875 lexotant

Akbar, and Rahman pills

5. 27 Trafficking Marcus Aijal alias 34,801 ecstasy

Max pills

6. 29 Traficking Four people 176 kg of marijuana