The Zarina telenovela

The story of Zarina, the young woman dubbed the "Ecstasy Queen" by the media, has all the makings of a telenovela, the TV melodramas so popular here.

Ever since she was arrested at her Tangerang home in August, Zarina has become the talk of the town, bringing her the "fame" she probably would never have achieved had she continued playing small roles in local sinetron (miniseries).

Zarina, or Zarima (her stage name), was arrested after police raided her home and seized more than 29,000 Ecstasy pills. She tried bribing and sweet-talking her way out of arrest. Both attempts failed. A few days later, the nation was shocked to learn that she had managed to dupe the police and escape. This in turn led to the arrest of the chief detective of the Tangerang police precinct, the last officer to be seen with her.

For nearly four months, there was no news of her until last week, when the police announced that Zarina had been arrested by U.S. authorities in Houston, Texas, apparently for overstaying her visa. A number of Jakarta detectives have been dispatched there, and are now awaiting her deportation before they can bring her home to stand trial in Jakarta.

The police's glory over the arrest was deflated when Zarina's father disclosed that he had been brokering negotiations with the authorities for her voluntary surrender. He is now maintaining that the police had reneged on an agreement for her surrender. He also threw in a new allegation: Rp 400 million in cash found at her home at the time of her arrest has disappeared.

Money, drugs, deceit, a police chase that takes them from Jakarta to Houston -- all these are ingredients for a good sinetron story line. Some of the details, like the way she duped the police detective, have become known. Houston is a good choice, although Dallas would probably have sounded better. Other details will no doubt be forthcoming, as the media continues to dig into the story, and as the drama continues to unfold.

What the story does not have are sex and violence, but then, these are not essential ingredients for a good drama. And it does not yet have an ending. Like all good telenovelas, one has to sit patiently through all the episodes to find out how it all ends. Because of the way this drama has been developing, it does not look like it is about to end anytime soon. There is still the new police investigation, if she is indeed brought back to Jakarta. There is also still the court trial, if it ever gets to that.

The national fascination with this real-life drama has unfortunately overshadowed some of the bigger and more important questions that should be asked about this entire episode. The media's obsession has detracted the nation from the core of the Ecstasy problem this country is facing.

The amount of pills seized from Zarina's home indicated that there is a big and probably powerful syndicate behind her. Dubbing her the "Ecstasy Queen" has elevated her importance more than she deserves. She is probably a small fry in a multimillion dollar Ecstasy trade. So far, we have heard little of the police's efforts to trace the syndicate behind Zarina. While they are obsessed with capturing her, which we might add at great cost to taxpayers' money, the real people behind the Ecstasy trade might have already fled the country and covered over their tracks.

Then there is the lingering question about how she managed to escape only a few days after her widely publicized arrest in August. While the police detective responsible for her escape had already been arrested and discharged, he has not been tried yet in the military tribunal, as promised. An answer to this question will help prevent the police from making the same mistake. Certainly, the last thing everybody wants is for this drama to continue, without an ending.