JP/5/HEROIN
2.3 kilograms of heroin seized in Bali Wahyoe Boediwardhana The Jakarta Post/Denpasar
Denpasar Municipality Police detectives recently arrested two alleged heroin traffickers from South Africa, and seized 2.3 kilograms of heroin from them, a senior police officer said on Monday.
The seizure of the 2.3 kilograms of heroin, which had an estimated street value of Rp 2 billion (US$ 212,765), was the biggest police heroin bust of the past two years, said Denpasar Municipal Police deputy chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Dewa Parsana.
The two suspects were still refusing to talk as of Monday -- six days after they had been arrested on Tuesday of last week -- so that the police had not been able to elicit much information from them, Parsana conceded.
"We are still in the dark as to how they smuggled the heroin to Indonesia, where they got it and what sort of network they have," said Parsana.
The police officer told reporters during a press conference that the police had become suspicious that the two South African nationals -- John Gabriele, 37, and Martin Christopher, 40 -- were drug traffickers one month ago.
However, the police did not arrest them immediately for lack of evidence. On Tuesday of last week, the police followed them to a hotel in the Petitenget Kuta area. Police detectives were certain that the two had drugs in their possession.
Police raided their hotel room on the same night and discovered the 2.3 kilograms of heroin.
The heroin powder was packed in 20 small plastic packages that were hidden in a can of Extraderm skin lotion, a Cream Crackers biscuit can and a Cadburys chocolate can. The cans were in a suitcase.
"All the heroin is first class and pure -- each gram is worth Rp 1 million (US$106.3)," said Parsana.
Parsana commented that the arrests proved that Bali was now a distribution center and not merely a transit point. "The heroin was packed in plastic packages and they were ready for sale here," said Parsana.
The two suspects have been charged under the Narcotics Law with drug trafficking, which carries the death penalty.
This seizure was the biggest since June two years ago, when police arrested Alphones Simbolon and seized 2.2 kilograms of heroin powder from him.