Police hope to add more heroin to their haul
Police hope to add more heroin to their haul
JAKARTA (JP): Police believe that three men, arrested here last week for possession of 29 kilograms of high-grade heroin, have more of the drug stashed at an undisclosed location.
"We've found strong indications that the three men are hiding a huge size of heroin somewhere in this country which we don't know yet," head of the National Police Crime Investigation Directorate, Brig. Gen. Rusdihardjo, said yesterday.
Rusdihardjo told reporters that the three had not yet made any sales of the drug.
"According to information we have... there are no indications that they have passed on the drugs to other hands," he said.
Rusdihardjo refused to explain the estimated size or location of the heroin reputed to still be unaccounted for.
According to the general, the information was obtained by police during investigation prior to the arrest of the three suspects, believed to be members of an international drug syndicate, at the five-star Hotel Indonesia in Central Jakarta last week.
The arrested are a Malaysian, a Thai and a man from Bekasi. The confiscated heroin has an estimated worth of Rp 58 billion (US$26.97 million).
The total value of the heroin made the bust the largest heroin seizure in the history of the country.
The suspects are identified as Tham Tuck Yin, 29, a Malaysian national, Sae Lim Iaw, 50, a Thai national, and Freddy, also known as A Ting, 44, from Bekasi.
The three could face the death sentence if convicted.
The confiscated heroin, packed in 60 bags, has a purity grade of between 95 and 97 percent. It is believed to have been smuggled into the country by boat through Belawan, North Sumatra, from Phuket, a famous tourist resort in Thailand, by A Tjai in January.
Golden Triangle
Police said that the heroin originated from the Golden Triangle, the region that straddles the corners of Thailand, Myanmmar and Laos.
Rusdihardjo said yesterday that police have tightened security controls across the Aceh-Medan-Jakarta links since the disclosure of the operation of an international drug syndicate in the city.
He also pledged to fight all persons found to be involved with drug trafficking, regardless of rank or importance.
"Whatever his rank, we'll try to nab him," he said, "because the number of drug addicts here has shown a significant increase in the past few years and Indonesia has become a potential market for international drug traffickers."
Therefore, "it's absolutely wrong if one still says that our country is only a transit point for international drug traffickers," he added.
"The evidence is the current growing number of drug addicts," Rusdihardjo said but gave no further explanation. (bsr)