Police make biggest drug bust ever

Police make biggest drug bust ever

JAKARTA (JP): Police have arrested a Malaysian, a Thai and an
Indonesian in the largest drug bust ever made in this country,
seizing 29 kilograms of high-grade heroin with an estimated
street-value of Rp 58 billion ($26.97 million).

The three were arrested at Hotel Indonesia on Jl. MH Thamrin
in Central Jakarta at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporter, the chief of the National Police Crime
Investigation Unit, Brig. Gen. Rusdihardjo, said the suspects,
believed to be part of an international drug syndicate, could
face the death sentence or life imprisonment if convicted.

He identified the suspects as Tham Tuck Yin, alias A Tjai, 29,
a Malaysian national, Sae Lim Iaw, alias Boon Tan, 50, a Thai
national, and Freddy, alias A Ting, 44, a resident of Bekasi, a
fast growing suburb east of Jakarta.

The suspected buyer, identified by the police as Tp, escaped
during the raid and is still at large.

"The total value of the heroin is the largest ever in the
history of heroin seizure in this country," Rusdihardjo said.

The previous largest haul seven years ago when police seized
17.7 kilograms of heroin being smuggled by a Thai seaman, Kamjai
Kong Thavorm, in Samarinda, East Kalimantan. Kamjai was sentenced
to death and the drug was burned.

Rusdihardjo said the 29 kilograms consisted of 60 small bags
each containing 480 grams of heroin.

During the raid in Hotel Indonesia's lobby on Wednesday, the
police found six bags in the possession of the Malaysian, A Tjai,
and A Ting. Based on information from the suspects, the police
later found another 54 bags at A Ting's house on Jl. Patriot in
the Jaka Sampurna housing complex in West Bekasi.

The Thai national, Boon Tan, was arrested in a room at the
hotel where he was allegedly waiting for a buyer.

Other party

National Police Force Deputy Chief for Operational Affairs,
Maj. Gen. Koesparmono Irsan said investigators believed that none
of the heroin smuggled into the country by the syndicate had been
passed on to other hands before the raid.

Koesparmono said the arrest of the syndicate members had been
assisted by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA) office.

Rusdihardjo said the Indonesian police had been informed about
the movements of this syndicate since January.

The confiscated heroin, which is between 95 and 97 percent
pure, is believed to have been smuggled into Indonesia by boat
through Belawan, North Sumatra, from Phuket, a tourist resort in
Thailand, by A Tjai in January.

According to police reports, after spending about one-and-a-
half days at sea, A Tjai arrived in Belawan and took an ojek
(motorcyclist providing rides for a fare) to the bus terminal in
Medan before he left for Jakarta.

"Each of the bags containing the heroin was coated with
paraffin so the drug could not be damaged by water or detected by
police dogs," Rusdihardjo said.

Upon arrival in Jakarta, the heroin was stored at A Ting's
house in West Bekasi.

Overproduction

Rusdihardjo quoted the two foreign suspects as saying that the
huge amount of the heroin seized on Wednesday was due to
overproduction of the drug in Thailand. "For the time being, the
country is able to produce around 5,000 tons of heroin per annum,
compared to the normal annual production capacity of between 800
and 1,200 tons."

"Due to the current overproduction, the producers are willing
to send the heroin to other countries, including Indonesia,
without any down payment, if necessary," he said.

He quoted A Tjai as saying that the heroin they had in their
possession had not yet been paid for.

During police questioning, the two foreigners admitted that
they had come to Indonesia several times to observe the local
market potential for heroin.

Boon Tan, who reportedly acted as the supervisor for the
syndicate, has visited Indonesia six times, twice via the Polonia
airport in Medan, North Sumatra, and four times via the Soekarno-
Hatta international airport in the capital.

Rusdihardjo explained that the syndicate's route link Phuket,
Belawan, Medan and Jakarta. "Usually, traffickers use the
Pekanbaru-Jakarta route."

The Malaysian, A Tjai, who acted as courier, has come here
three times, including twice through the Soekarno-Hatta airport
and once illegally through the Polonia airport.

A day before the raid, the two arrived in Jakarta from
Thailand via Singapore on SilkAir airlines.

When asked for confirmation about the suspect's nationality,
Norman, a consular affairs staff member at the Malaysian embassy
here, said that he had not yet been informed about the arrest by
the Indonesian authorities.

Thai embassy staff here could not be reached for comment.
(bsr)