Police hunt Ecstasy traffickers

Police hunt Ecstasy traffickers

JAKARTA (JP): Police have compiled a list of about 100 people which they say are their most-wanted suspects in relation to the trafficking and use of the drug "Ecstasy" in Indonesia.

According to data made available to The Jakarta Post yesterday, the list includes relatives of important public figures. Some of the suspects are Indonesian nationals who are living in Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia.

Some of the wanted people live in Bali, while others are resident in Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city.

"We're still keeping an eye on all of their activities and are waiting for an appropriate time to arrest them, along with the drugs," said a senior officer of the city's narcotics crime investigation unit.

The officer, who requested anonymity, told the Post that the suspects were quite clever at playing hide-and-seek with the police.

Known as a "designer drug", Ecstasy is a kind of amphetamine.

Rules issued by the ministry of health in 1985 state that the chemical substances in Ecstasy are temporarily categorized as dangerous drugs.

However, on the basis of a law adopted from the Dutch colonial administration, Ecstasy users cannot be punished, while traffickers face a maximum term of imprisonment of six months.

Attorney General Singgih said on Tuesday that the anti- narcotics law needs to be amended to enable law enforcers to prosecute people suspected of trafficking or using Ecstasy.

The drug can now be purchased at certain discotheques and other places in Jakarta for between Rp 100,000 (US$44) and Rp 200,000 per pill. (bsr)