Police arrest two individuals for distributing thousands of illicit drugs in Tamansari
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Police have arrested two individuals for selling thousands of illicit drugs without proper authorization on Jalan Keamanan, Keagungan Village, Tamansari, West Jakarta.
Chief of the Tamansari Metro Police, Kompol Bobby M. Zulfikar, stated that the perpetrators carried out their activities by disguising the transaction location as a grocery store or convenience store.
“The Tamansari Metro Police have uncovered and secured the circulation of illicit drugs, including several types of drugs such as Tramadol, Excimer, and others,” said Bobby on Saturday.
Police seized a total of 3,000 illicit drugs that were sold illegally without authorization during the raid.
“Among them were 1,500 Tramadol pills, 1,325 Excimer pills, and the rest were other types of drugs, along with two cell phones belonging to the perpetrators and Rp669,000 in cash from the day’s sales,” said Bobby.
To deceive residents and the police, the two suspects disguised their illicit drug sales activity by opening a convenience store.
The store operated as usual, continuing to sell general necessities.
“The store was disguised as a grocery store. So, it was like a convenience store. However, it didn’t operate 24 hours, and the surrounding residents didn’t know that it was selling drugs,” he said.
Bobby said that the illicit drugs were not displayed openly in the store’s display case.
The perpetrators kept them in the back and only served buyers who provided secret codes to make transactions.
“They were kept in the back, not displayed directly. So, maybe only certain people knew. Based on the suspects’ statements, they used certain codes for those who wanted to buy,” said Bobby.
According to Bobby, the store had only been operating and distributing illicit drugs for about ten days.
Their customers were diverse, targeting various age groups from young people to adults.
The illicit drugs were sold at a relatively cheap price, namely Rp10,000 per strip.
Bobby estimated that the perpetrators’ daily turnover was far more than the amount of cash seized by officers at the location.
“The evidence seized was Rp669,000 in cash, during the raid in the afternoon. The store opened until late at night, around 8 pm. So, we can see that the profit from selling the drugs could be more than Rp669,000 in a day,” he said.
Currently, the police are still investigating the distribution network and suppliers of the drugs.
“For now, we are still investigating the distribution network and suppliers, including the financial aspects and the supply of the drugs,” said Bobby.
At the same time, Head of the Criminal Investigation Unit of the Tamansari Metro Police, AKP Egy Irwansyah, emphasized that the perpetrators would be prosecuted under the Health Law.
“The case is subject to Article 435 of Law No. 17 of 2023 of the Republic of Indonesia concerning Health, which states that anyone who produces or distributes pharmaceutical products and/or medical devices that do not meet standards can be sentenced to a maximum of 12 years in prison or a maximum fine of Rp5 billion,” said Egy.
In addition, investigators also charged them with an additional article, namely Article 436 paragraph 2 of Law No. 17 of 2023 of the Republic of Indonesia concerning Health, for distributing pharmaceutical products without having the expertise or authority.