Police seize 1.5 tons of Aceh ganja after a tip-off
Police seize 1.5 tons of Aceh ganja after a tip-off
JAKARTA (JP): City police detectives seized nearly 1.5 tons of
Aceh marijuana worth about Rp 3 billion (US$428,571) hidden in 12
sealed oil drums in a single raid early Wednesday morning.
City Police chief of detectives Col. Alex Bambang Riatmodjo
said four Achenese had organized delivery of the marijuana-filled
oil drums into the capital from Medan, North Sumatra.
The suspects were identified as Muzakkir, 31, M. Husein, 27,
Abdurrachman, 30 and Musannah, 31.
They were apprehended by police at 1 a.m. on Wednesday while
driving the contraband-laden truck in the Bumi Mas Bogor housing
complex in Sawangan, Bogor.
"The drugs were expedited from PT Joeang in Medan, to a
company here called PT Emco Utama on Jl. Tanah Merdeka, North
Jakarta. We received the information a week ago from an anonymous
caller. We've been waiting for this delivery since Tuesday
evening," Alex said.
"We first spotted the truck at Kampung Rambutan in East
Jakarta. We followed it all the way to Sawangan. That's where we
made the arrest."
Muzakkir said the four suspects were promised Rp 250,000
(US$35.70) each for the delivery of each kilogram.
The police invited the media to witness the opening of the
sealed iron drums which were hammered open by blacksmiths. As
soon as small openings were hammered into the drums, oil spurted
out onto some of the journalists' T-shirts and cameras.
When the unexpected discharge stopped, the drums were drenched
in thick, black oil. The blacksmiths then pried open the lids and
detectives pulled out oil-soaked sacks from the drums.
One of the detectives then cut through a sack, only to find
thick plastic covering.
Rectangular brown-taped packages were eventually discovered,
but only after the detective cut into two more plastic coverings
from the same sack. Reporters and detectives cheered when the
detective cut through the brown tape and pulled out the ganja
leaves, which were wet from the oil.
Police said the operation was the biggest ganja haul for the
past 15 years.
Other ganja-related arrests occurred on Tuesday night when
police detectives raided a house in Klender, East Jakarta, and
confiscated 4.3 kilograms of marijuana.
The suspects, identified as 23-year-old Abdullah Hamdani and
48-year-old Abdul Rani Yunus, were arrested on Jl. I Gusti Ngurah
Rai in Klender.
Police detectives from the Penjaringan Police subprecinct in
North Jakarta seized on Oct. 6, 929 kilograms of marijuana, worth
about Rp 1.85 billion from four of seven suspected drug dealers.
In late September, city police seized 602 kilograms of
marijuana, worth about Rp 1.2 billion, from four of five
suspected drug dealers in a single raid.
While in July, city police detectives seized 245 kilograms of
marijuana from an Aceh university student who had recently
returned from Aceh with two friends.
Heroin
Alex also disclosed that an Indonesian national had been
arrested on Oct. 23, in Lahore, Pakistan, for hiding six
kilograms of heroin in a flight's baggage section.
Alex identified the woman as Emy Mustika Sari, daughter of
businessman Muhari Safaai. She is currently being detained at
Lahore's Lakhpat Jail.
"The Lahore police are due to fax me more detailed information
on the woman," Alex said. (ylt)