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.