Police Arrest Young Man for Distributing Methamphetamine Using Snail Shells in Lembang
Police Arrest Young Man for Distributing Methamphetamine Using Snail Shells in Lembang
Police have arrested a young man for distributing methamphetamine using snail shells, a popular snack among locals in Lembang, West Bandung Regency, West Java.
Snail is a traditional food popular among the Sundanese people, consisting of freshwater snails or rice paddy snails that are processed with yellow spices, coconut milk sauce, or spicy stir-fry.
However, in the hands of the suspect, RPA (27), a young man from Wangunsari Village, Lembang, the snails were transformed into a means of distributing methamphetamine. He was arrested by personnel from the Cimahi Police Narcotics Unit a few days ago.
“We have apprehended a young man from Lembang who was distributing methamphetamine, but he disguised it by hiding it inside the snail snacks,” said Cimahi Police Chief, AKBP Niko N Adi Putra, on Tuesday (24 February), as quoted by detikJabar.
During the arrest, police seized 2.08 grams of methamphetamine and several snail shells.
According to police investigations, the suspect collected the rice paddy snails near his home and then processed them to resemble the leftover snail snacks, in order to conceal the methamphetamine he was distributing.
“He would first collect the snails from the rice fields, then empty their contents and insert the methamphetamine, which was already packaged in plastic,” said Niko.
He would then wrap the snails in packages ready for distribution and store them at a predetermined location. He would then hand over the location to his customers for them to collect.
“So, the system is that they are dropped off at a certain place, so that no one will suspect anything because people will think it is just trash,” said Niko.
Niko said that the suspect, RPA, had been running this business for three months. He obtained the illicit goods from another individual known as Mengko, who is currently being pursued.
“He has been doing this for three months and has made a profit of Rp6 million from each sale,” said Niko.
The suspect, RPA, is charged under Article 114 of Law No. 35 of 2009 of the Republic of Indonesia concerning Narcotics and/or Article 610 paragraph (1) letter a of Law No. 1 of 2026 of the Republic of Indonesia concerning Amendments to Criminal Law, with a minimum prison sentence of 5 years and a maximum of 20 years, and/or a minimum fine of Rp1 billion.
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(kid/ugo)[Image: CNN Video]