Police arrest three drug dealers

Police arrest three drug dealers

JAKARTA (JP): Police have arrested three alleged drug dealers from Aceh province in two separate raids here.

The deputy chief of city police detective unit, Lt. Col. Bakat Purwanto, said the first two suspects, identified as M. Nasir, 27 and Zainuddin, 28, were picked up at Kalibata Mall, South Jakarta, on Wednesday.

"The two were caught red-handed when doing a marijuana transaction with a plainclothes officer at about 3 p.m.," Bakat said.

"The undercover officer was showing Rp 15 million in cash as a hook for the two suspects. When they took it and showed the marijuana, we busted them."

Police confiscated five kilograms of dried marijuana wrapped in newspaper and kept inside a blue bag.

The men, who said they were Aceh residents, claimed they obtained the drug from a man named Muslim bin Munir, also an Aceh resident who lived in Jagakarsa area, South Jakarta.

At about 7:30 p.m. on the same day police raided Muslim's house. "We arrested Muslim with another five grams of marijuana. He admitted that he brought the marijuana straight from Aceh by land transportation."

The men have been detained at City Police Headquarters for further investigation. (edt)