Man arrested for faking medicine brands
JAKARTA (JP): North Jakarta police arrested a man yesterday for allegedly counterfeiting some traditional Chinese medicine brands, a police officer said.
Chief of Penjaringan Police precinct Maj. Sujarno said that Michael Husada Yunawan alias Cuming was arrested at his home at Jl. Pluit Selatan I/38, Penjaringan, North Jakarta.
He said the house was used as a factory for packaging his medicine products.
Sijaro said Michael had neither a permit from the Ministry of Health to produce the medicine nor a permit from the Ministry of Manpower to hire workers.
He said the man also violated regulations by hiring ten underage girls at his factory and two warehouses, located, respectively, in DKI Complex Blok C/19, Kapuk, and Grafisa Complex Blok CL/17, Jelambar, both in West Jakarta.
Hundreds of bogus Chinese medicine types, packed in almost 400 medium-sized boxes, were confiscated from Michael's warehouses, he said.
In a related development, a man believed to be a drug dealer was arrested in West Jakarta on Tuesday morning for allegedly trafficking drugs worth at least Rp 20 million (US$8,163).
The seized drugs were 80,000 Nipam barbiturate pills and 2,000 Rohypnol tranquilizer pills, City Police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang said Wednesday.
He said the drugs were confiscated from a man identified as Nurdian Leonardo, 47.
Nurdian alias A Ten was arrested at his house on Jl. Perniagaan Timur 38 following a lead West Jakarta police received from Nurdian's neighbors.
Police said Nurdian confessed he sold several types of cheap drugs, including Nipam and Rohypnol, to customers over the phone.
"Customers usually called Nurdian with their orders and then he would deliver the drugs to places where both parties agreed to meet," Aritonang said.
He said police were still questioning Nurdian to find out more about his drug business.
A police source said there was a possibility that Nurdian might be connected to people arrested earlier at a raid on a Nipam packaging facility.
In March, police made their biggest Nipam seizure this year when more than two million 10-milligram Nipam pills were confiscated. Twenty-one people were arrested at the factory in Taman Kota housing estate, West Jakarta.
The government has banned the production and trade of Nipam since the 1980s. Since then, the pills have been popular with drug users.
Nipam, Rohypnol and other cheap drugs are commonly sold for as low as Rp 2,500 for a strip of 10 pills at many roadside pharmaceutical stores, particularly in Senen and Tanah Abang in Central Jakarta, Jl. Gajah Mada in West Jakarta, and Blok A market in South Jakarta. (cst)