Old drug cases involving military, police pile up

JAKARTA (JP): The military police is still handling the cases of 28 Army and police officers suspected of either drug dealing, planting marijuana or illegally selling liquor over the past three years, Col. Saleh Saaf of the National Police information unit said.

"In some cases the dossiers have not even been completed. In others, the cases are still being tried at military tribunals. It's really going slow," Saleh said.

"New cases are piling up. The more open we are about this, the more the military police will work harder on these cases and cut down on bureaucracy."

Police statistics show that out of the eight cases dating from 1996 which are currently being tried at military tribunals, four standout.

The first two involve Chief Sergeant M. Nur Bardan of the Aceh Police information directorate and Second Sergeant Hidayatullah of the Aceh Mobile Brigade unit (Brimob), who are suspected of drug dealing and planting marijuana.

They were caught in the Indrapuri subdistrict of Krueng Jree, Aceh Besar regency, on June 19, 1996, where they are alleged to have owned a five-hectare marijuana plot with up to 60,000 plants.

The remaining two cases concern retired police officer Amir Hamzah bin Hasto of Palembang, South Sumatra, and his partner First Cpl. Yanto from the Palembang Police sabhara patrol unit.

Both men were caught on Aug. 16, 1996, on suspicion of cultivating approximately 316 marijuana plants.

Of the six people caught last year whose dossiers are still incomplete, two cases standout.

The first involves Munir, an officer of the Jayapura Military Command in Irian Jaya, who was arrested at Jayapura seaport on Dec. 31, 1998, for possessing 60 liters of liquor.

The second concerns Second Sergeant M. Yusuf, a non- commissioned officer for village development in Aceh Besar military district, who is alleged to have dealt drugs.

He was arrested in front of the North Aceh Police station on Feb. 23 last year, in possession of four kilograms of marijuana.

Statistics reveal that of the drug cases involving Army and police officers, eight cases from 1996, 12 from 1997 and two from 1999 are still in court while the dossiers of six cases from 1998 have still not been completed.

The Jakarta Military Command is awaiting the results of urine tests on members suspected of using drugs, its spokesman Lt. Col. Djazairi Nachrowi said on Thursday.

He sought to play down media reports quoting Jakarta Military Commander Maj. Gen. Djadja Suparman that at least 10 of the command's personnel were in a drug treatment program.

Nachrowi said urine samples were taken from military personnel showing signs of drug use following morning exercises recently. (ylt)