North Jakarta Police Arrest 14 Sellers of Hard Drugs Disguised as Grocery and Cosmetic Shops

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Narcotics Sub-Directorate (Satres Narkoba) of the North Jakarta Metro Police Resort and its sector police stations have arrested 14 men suspected of selling illegal hard drugs under the guise of grocery and cosmetic shops in the North Jakarta (Jakut) area. “We uncovered 14 cases of hard drug circulation in the North Jakarta area, from January 2026 to April 2026,” said the Head of Narcotics at the North Jakarta Metro Police Resort, AKBP Ari Galang Saputro, in Jakarta on Thursday. He stated that officers have secured 14 men, who are currently under investigation. “In these 14 cases, we seized 14,360 pills, mostly of the tramadol type,” Ari said. He mentioned that the evidence seized by officers included 4,693 tramadol pills, 4,226 eximer pills, 1,385 trihexyphenidyl pills, 2,286 yellow capsules, 680 silver-coloured tablets, 712 Destro pills, and 14 Riklona Clonazepam pills. Additionally, there were 77 Alprazolam pills, three Calmiet pills, 64 CTM pills, and 220 Dexaharsen pills. Currently, Ari said, officers are still probing the origin of these items. “We also seized a total of Rp18 million in cash from the perpetrators,” Ari revealed. In Cilincing Sub-District, he said, there were six cases, followed by four in Penjaringan, one in Koja, and one in Tanjung Priok Sub-District. “For Kelapa Gading and Pademangan, there are no cases yet; they are still being recorded,” Ari stated. According to him, most of the hard drug sellers are not native Jakartans but from other regions. He emphasised that the suspects are threatened with Article 435 Sub-Article 436 paragraphs 1 and 2 of Law No. 17 of 2023 on Health, as amended in Appendix 1 of Law No. 1 of 2026 on Penal Adjustments. “The perpetrators face a maximum sentence of 12 years or a fine of up to Rp5 billion,” Ari stressed.