Police search for three more suspects in drug case
Police search for three more suspects in drug case
Fadli, The Jakarta Post, Batam
The National Police said they were searching for three more
suspects in connection with a home laboratory manufacturing
ecstasy pills, which was discovered last week in the Riau town of
Tanjung Balai Karimun.
The police, however, refused to identify the three suspects,
who they believe are still in Indonesia, but said they may be
suppliers of the equipment and substances used to make excepts.
"We will find them even though they are on the run because
dealing in illicit drugs is not a minor offense," Sr. Comr.
Yontje Mende, a senior officer with the narcotics division at
National Police Headquarters, said.
He arrived in Tanjung Balai Karimun on Thursday to see the
laboratory firsthand as part of the investigation into the
national or international network behind the trade.
Police in the West Riau Islands district arrested six
suspects: A. Hai, 29, Doni, 22, Ahmad, 34, Andi, 20, Surya, 24,
and Acing, 44, and seized a total of 14,726 ecstasy pills.
The six men were arrested on Dec. 6 when the police raided
Ahmad's house, where they discovered the equipment and five
kilograms of the chemical powder used in the production of
ecstasy.
"A. Hai admitted that one kilogram of the powder could make
5,000 ecstasy pills. It means that they would have manufactured
at least 25,000 more pills with the five kilograms they had,
while we had seized almost 15,000 pills," Yontje said.
He said the illegal setup was the second largest find made by
the police after another raid in Tangerang last April netted the
owner of a drug laboratory that manufactured ecstasy pills by the
thousands.
The suspect, Ang Kiem Soei, alias Anche Tahir, alias Kim Ho,
31, was arrested along with a haul of 8,400 ecstasy pills and
illicit chemicals used in the making of the pills in the
laboratory at Jl. KH. Hasyim Ashari No. 29, KM 1, Cipondoh,
Tangerang.
Pursued by drug detectives since 1998, he was believed to hold
both a Dutch passport and an Indonesian identification card,
which was reportedly issued in Papua.
The laboratory, where Ang Kiem himself lived, had three main
rooms, which were all used to produce the pills.
The materials seized from the laboratory included
Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), which is Ecstasy in powder
form before it is made into a capsule or pill. MDMA is a
synthetic, psychoactive drug possessing stimulant and
hallucinogenic properties.
Police did not say if the Tangerang and Tanjung Balai Karimun
laboratories were linked.
Yontje said police were working hard to reveal the masterminds
behind the manufacturing operation of ecstasy pills in Tanjung
Balai Karimun.
The police require specific background to carry out the
investigation as these are professional drug dealers, he said.
"Dealers using manual tools can produce 500 pills a day, let
alone those operating with modern technology. They may be able to
manufacture up to 50,000 pills a day," Yontje said.
He said the police discovered that a transfer of Rp 323
million had been made to the bank account of A. Hai, a key
suspect in the drug bust.
The money was believed to have been transferred by Hai's
customers on July 15 of this year, Yontje said, but he declined
to elaborate further.
Hai later transferred some of the money to bank accounts
belonging to other people, who were under investigation, he
added.