Searching for bombs, police find 'shabu-shabu'and ecstasy pills

JAKARTA (JP): During a raid in search of bombs at a boardinghouse, police found on Thursday shabu-shabu (crystal menthaphetamine) and ecstasy pills instead.

Police arrested two men at the boardinghouse on Jl. Surkarjo Wiryopranoto, Kebon Kelapa subdistrict for the possession of 525 grams of shabu-shabu and 1,407 ecstasy pills.

Gambir Police chief detective First. Insp. Bayu Dewantoro said two policemen were sent to the three-story boardinghouse after receiving a call from a tenant of the house who told police that he had received a bomb threat.

The two policemen -- Krekot Police station chief Second. Adj. Insp. Suyoto and Second. Brig. Rochmatul Amri from the Gambir police station -- did not find any bombs in the boardinghouse.

They found instead a packet of shabu-shabu, six inex pills, four instruments used for inhaling shabu-shabu, and a small jerrycan of alcohol in one of the rooms rented by Richard, a sailor, in the boardinghouse.

Richard confessed that he had been taking the drugs for five years.

"Suyoto and Amri then became suspicious of another man in the house holding a Panasonic cellular phone box," Bayu said.

When the man, identified later as Surja Alamsyah, was about to escape, the policemen grab him and examined the box in his hand. It contained five packets of shabu-shabu weighing 484 grams.

Police then escorted Surja to his house on Jl Industri I, Gunung Sahari, Central Jakarta, and found another packet of shabu-shabu weighing 40 grams and 1,407 ecstasy pills stored in a Kymco VCD player.

Bayu said Surja confessed he received the cellular phone box containing the drugs from a man called Suherman on Wednesday at 10 a.m.. Surja was to hand the box over to someone who would wait for him in front of Prabu Motor, which is located next to the boardinghouse, between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., Bayu explained.

"Before meeting with this person, Surja decided to enter the boardinghouse where he was caught by the police," Bayu added.

Surya told police he was paid Rp 250,000 by Suherman to deliver the box. The police are trying to track down Suherman. (01)