Officers step up battle against illegal drug trade
Officers step up battle against illegal drug trade
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Several days into an operation targeting drug manufacturers and
dealers, the Jakarta Police have arrested seized suspected
dealers and closed down a factory in Subang, West Java, that was
reportedly producing 2,200 ecstasy pills a day, an officer said
on Monday.
Two suspected drug dealers, identified as Adi Teguh, 24, and
Heri, 29, were arrested at a club in Mangga Besar, West Jakarta,
over the weekend. Another suspect, Damri Ramli, alias Acai, 42,
was apprehended on Jl. Pluit Raya in North Jakarta, while a
fourth suspect, Suwady Amin, alias Akiong, 29, was arrested on
Jl. Samanhudi in Central Jakarta.
Officers confiscated over 400 ecstasy pills from the four
suspects.
The head of the police's psychotropic drugs unit, Adj. Sr.
Comr. Sugeng IR, said the four suspects told investigators the
ecstasy pills were produced at a factory in Subang.
"After receiving this information we dispatched officers to
Subang, where we were able to locate a factory that was able to
produce thousands of ecstasy pills a day," he said.
Police raided the factory and arrested Yanto Pahala Wijaya,
alias Aheng, 39, and Endi, 35.
The intensive crackdown on drug trafficking in the capital
over the past several months has apparently forced manufacturers
to move their illicit activities to outlying areas.
City police spokesman Sr. Comr. Tjiptono said more drug
manufacturers were moving their factories outside of Jakarta to
avoid detection.
"We believe they have changed their tactics, moving factories
outside of Jakarta while still targeting Jakarta as their
market," he said.
An ecstasy user who asked not to be identified said it was
becoming more difficult to find ecstasy in the capital.
"Especially in the last two months it has been a struggle to
find the stuff. Even if I find some, it is so expensive," he told
The Jakarta Post.
Police have made dozens of major drug arrests and have carried
out numerous drug raids over the first five months of the year.
Earlier this month, police announced they had shut down an
ecstasy factory capable of producing 3,000 pills a day and had
arrested Ayung, 44, in Duri Kepa, Kembangan, West Jakarta, a
suspect believed to have long ties to the illicit drug trade in
Jakarta.
In May, Soekarno-Hatta International Airport customs and
excise officers and the police confiscated one kilogram of
cocaine from a KLM plane. Earlier, officers from the National
Narcotics Agency and customs officers arrested a foreign
national, identified as Marcus Aijal, alias Max, and confiscated
34,801 ecstasy pills from him at the international airport.
Police also announced a major drug bust involving 55 kilograms
of crystal methamphetamine (shabu-shabu) and 70,000 ecstasy
pills. Officers also arrested two suspected members of an
international drug syndicate.
In March, police arrested 761 people, including five foreign
nationals and several Indonesian Military and police personnel,
and seized over 100 kilograms of drugs during raids on dozens of
locations in the capital.
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Several days into an operation targeting drug manufacturers and
dealers, the Jakarta Police have arrested seized suspected
dealers and closed down a factory in Subang, West Java, that was
reportedly producing 2,200 ecstasy pills a day, an officer said
on Monday.
Two suspected drug dealers, identified as Adi Teguh, 24, and
Heri, 29, were arrested at a club in Mangga Besar, West Jakarta,
over the weekend. Another suspect, Damri Ramli, alias Acai, 42,
was apprehended on Jl. Pluit Raya in North Jakarta, while a
fourth suspect, Suwady Amin, alias Akiong, 29, was arrested on
Jl. Samanhudi in Central Jakarta.
Officers confiscated over 400 ecstasy pills from the four
suspects.
The head of the police's psychotropic drugs unit, Adj. Sr.
Comr. Sugeng IR, said the four suspects told investigators the
ecstasy pills were produced at a factory in Subang.
"After receiving this information we dispatched officers to
Subang, where we were able to locate a factory that was able to
produce thousands of ecstasy pills a day," he said.
Police raided the factory and arrested Yanto Pahala Wijaya,
alias Aheng, 39, and Endi, 35.
The intensive crackdown on drug trafficking in the capital
over the past several months has apparently forced manufacturers
to move their illicit activities to outlying areas.
City police spokesman Sr. Comr. Tjiptono said more drug
manufacturers were moving their factories outside of Jakarta to
avoid detection.
"We believe they have changed their tactics, moving factories
outside of Jakarta while still targeting Jakarta as their
market," he said.
An ecstasy user who asked not to be identified said it was
becoming more difficult to find ecstasy in the capital.
"Especially in the last two months it has been a struggle to
find the stuff. Even if I find some, it is so expensive," he told
The Jakarta Post.
Police have made dozens of major drug arrests and have carried
out numerous drug raids over the first five months of the year.
Earlier this month, police announced they had shut down an
ecstasy factory capable of producing 3,000 pills a day and had
arrested Ayung, 44, in Duri Kepa, Kembangan, West Jakarta, a
suspect believed to have long ties to the illicit drug trade in
Jakarta.
In May, Soekarno-Hatta International Airport customs and
excise officers and the police confiscated one kilogram of
cocaine from a KLM plane. Earlier, officers from the National
Narcotics Agency and customs officers arrested a foreign
national, identified as Marcus Aijal, alias Max, and confiscated
34,801 ecstasy pills from him at the international airport.
Police also announced a major drug bust involving 55 kilograms
of crystal methamphetamine (shabu-shabu) and 70,000 ecstasy
pills. Officers also arrested two suspected members of an
international drug syndicate.
In March, police arrested 761 people, including five foreign
nationals and several Indonesian Military and police personnel,
and seized over 100 kilograms of drugs during raids on dozens of
locations in the capital.