Sixteen arrested in drug orgy in Tanah Abang

JAKARTA (JP): Police arrested 16 alleged drug traffickers and users in a raid Friday at a boarding house on Jl. Kebon Sayur, Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta.

"Some of them were heavily stoned when the police arrived. They were having a heroin party", said Capt. Sigit, the head of Tanah Abang Police subprecinct.

Four of the suspects, assumed to be drug dealers, were identified as Hardianto, 43, Anwar bin Asmawi, 27, Afrizal, 27 and Bachrul Hairul alias Boy, 44.

From them officers confiscated 15 packages of heroin substitute putaw, a marijuana cigarette, four packages of amphetamine derivative shabu-shabu, a pair of scales, aluminum foil, plastic spoons, matches and a tube of toothpaste.

The other 12 people, suspected of being drug users, were identified as Stanley J. Maengkom, 25, a hotel academy student; Taufik, 27, a private company employee; Syamsuri, 43, former employee of state oil company Pertamina; Poltak P. Simanjuntak, 22, a university student; Agus Wahyudi, 27, unemployed; Namin, 19, a gas station attendant; Andi Tony, 26, a student; Dendy, 24, a student; Indratama Djuned Poesponegoro, 25 a student; Daryl Sjahril Djohan, 25, a private company employee; David Kristian Permadi, 25, a student and Marsudi Utomo, 30, an employee at the Ministry of Education and Culture.

The sixteen suspects had been under tight surveillance for about three weeks.

"Actually we were after a woman drug dealer. But she was not there when we rounded them up," the head of the Tanah Abang detective unit, First Lt. Ali Masduki told The Jakarta Post.

When police raided the boarding house, owned by a housewife named Lany, all of the suspects were having a drug party, he said.

Some of them tried to run away through connecting doors and some jumped from the second floor.

"We were only nine. It was quite hard to arrest them all. Some of them tried to attack the officers," Ali said.

But after the police gave three warning shots, the panicked crowd gave up and all the partygoers were eventually packed into small trucks and taken to the police station.

One of the alleged drug users, Indratama, a student whose father is a university professor, admitted to having been carried away by his friends' action.

"Didn't you join the proreform demonstrations?" asked a police officer.

Indratama just looked up at the officer and smiled. He looked heavily stoned, according to the police.

"Some places in Tanah Abang are known for this kind of activity. Therefore we always closely monitor the area," Sigit said, adding that people would use boarding houses as their home base.

About two weeks ago Tanah Abang police arrested four drug dealers, two of whom were university students.

The head of the Central Jakarta Police Precinct, Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna, confirmed the arrests Saturday.

"We want to crack down on drug dealing because there are strong indications that drug trafficking has spread to campuses over the past four years and that it's getting worse," he said.

Iman also expressed concern over the growing number of students who use drugs, especially in the city.

"They should be fighting for better conditions, such as joining the proreform campaigns or something else useful. These students do not care whether this country is falling apart. Their parents must be more active in supervising their behavior."

In April police captured five alleged drug dealers who operated on several campuses in Jakarta. (edt)