Police destroy big haul of heroin, Ecstasy pills

JAKARTA (JP): At least 2,050 grams of heroin and 29,083 Ecstasy pills, confiscated from between August and November last year from three suspects, were destroyed at National Police Headquarters in South Jakarta on Monday.

"We must destroy the confiscated narcotics in line with legal procedures and Law No. 22/1992 on psychotropic drugs," chief of the National Police's narcotics detective unit Col. Wilhelmus Laturette told reporters.

The pills and heroin were destroyed by fire.

He said 1,600 grams of the heroin were seized from one suspect, a Togolese national identified as Victor Chukwuka Onyezia, and the remainder from Lebhong Leonard Moretto of Lesotho.

"Both Onyezia and Moretto were arrested at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in separate incidents in November last year," Laturette said.

The pills were all seized from a suspect identified as Roger Wijaya, who was arrested in early August.

The three are detained at national police headquarters on Jl. Trunojoyo, pending completion of their dossiers.

The public has frequently questioned the whereabouts of confiscated goods, particularly drugs. Many suspect crooked officers return the drug hauls to the market.

"What we burned today was, of course, not the amount officially stated in the ceremony as we've already picked up five grams and also taken several pills as evidence for court later," an officer of the police information unit, Lt. Col. Saleh Saaf, said.

A heavy downpour delayed by two hours the ceremony, scheduled at 11 a.m. Encased in plastic bags, the drugs were burned on a pile of wood and charcoal in a tin drum.

Laturette said it the first time this year that the national police burned seized narcotics and other drugs.

"This is not a periodical event because we will burn the evidence if we think it is harmful and tempting if we keep it too long in our office."

He added other items seized as evidence, including cars and other valuable goods, would be auctioned after suspects were tried.

Also present at the ceremony were the airport's custom and excise chief, Tonny Soenanto, and a member of the Armed Forces (ABRI) faction of the House of Representatives, Isnawan. (emf)