Police urged to reveal other Ecstasy cases
Police urged to reveal other Ecstasy cases
JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives wants police to
have success in Ecstasy-related cases after bringing suspect
Zarina home from her hideout in Houston, U.S.
Abu Hasan Sazili, deputy chairman of the Commission I of the
House, said Zarina's return from Houston to Jakarta on Sunday
relieved everyone.
Police should work harder to reveal other Ecstasy-related
cases, he said.
Commission I deals with, among other things, foreign affairs,
information, and defense and security matters.
Zarina, 24, escaped from Tangerang detectives on Aug. 8 after
police found 29,677 Ecstasy pills in her house the day before.
"Now that Zarina is re-arrested, police need to make an inter-
sectoral probe into all Ecstasy-related cases. I believe that all
Indonesian people want that," Abu Hasan said.
He said National Police Chief Lt. Gen. Dibyo Widodo had
promised to probe Ecstasy distribution networks.
"Let's support the police, by giving them information about
Ecstasy-related cases. Input from the people will be useful to
police in their operation," he said.
Abu Hasan, who is of the ruling Golkar faction, told Antara
yesterday it was possible for Indonesian police to cooperate with
other countries' police when dealing with Ecstasy cases.
"Indonesia has ratified the United Nations' convention on
psychotropics. This means we can cooperate with police and other
institutions from other countries," he said.
As Ecstasy is very dangerous it is imperative that the
government is determined to eliminate its abuse, he said.
"Ecstasy abuse has become a serious topic discussed at
international meetings, including the International Parliament
Union," he said.
Speaking of legal consequences Zarina faces, Abu Hasan said
Zarina must be no exception in law. "As an Indonesian citizen
Zarina must be treated like other offenders," he said.
Public comments
In a related development, people said they expected Zarina's
rearrest would reveal a bigger Ecstasy network in the country.
Asep Kurniawan, a student of the University of Indonesia, told
Antara Zarina might have cooperated with local and international
Ecstasy syndicates. "We hope the court can reveal many things in
her (Zarina's) trial".
Asep, who majors in public health, expected the case would be
handled according to legal procedures. Those found guilty
deserved punishment, who ever they were, he said.
"We'd like to know if Zarina got assistant from certain people
to escape to Houston," he said.
A resident of Cempaka Putih, Central Jakarta, Sanwani, shared
his opinion, saying the law must be preserved in this case. "This
is very important in our effort to curb drug businesses in the
country, and that includes Ecstasy," Sanwani said.
National Police Chief Lt. Gen. Dibyo Widodo had earlier said
Zarina might be member of an international syndicate.
"Police want to re-question the suspect to make everything
clearer," Dibyo said. (sur)