Three drug dealers arrested in raids

JAKARTA (JP): Narcotics detectives have busted three alleged drug dealers, seizing 132 Ecstasy pills and almost three kilograms of marijuana from them.

The suspects were nabbed in different raids, City Police Spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang said yesterday.

The alleged Ecstasy dealer, identified as Budi Hartono, was arrested in the early hours of yesterday while hanging around the Hailai discotheque in Ancol, North Jakarta.

Aritonang said that the 132 pills, which have a street value of Rp 5.3 million (US$2,000), were found in Budi's possession during the raid, which was undertaken specially to seize him.

Detectives discovered that Budi had sold the pills at several night spots in the city for some time, said Aritonang.

During questioning, Budi said that he had started selling the drugs only in the last three months.

Budi, 30, lives in Tanah Tinggi subdistrict in Senen, Central Jakarta, an area which is notorious for its psychotropic drugs production and dealing.

"The suspect said that selling Ecstasy pills is just his side job. His real profession is a salesman of medical equipment," Aritonang said.

The other two, alleged marijuana dealers, Ahmad, 33, and Agus, 40, were arrested Thursday.

They were believed to have been supplying the drugs to other dealers in and around the city, said Aritonang.

Ahmad was arrested in Pisangan Baru, East Jakarta, with half a kilogram of marijuana in his possession.

Based on Ahmad's confession, the detectives nabbed his accomplice, Agus, at his house in Johar Baru in Central Jakarta later in the day.

"We seized two and a half kilograms of marijuana from Agus," said the spokesman.

The two suspects told police investigators that they got the marijuana from a man called Arifin, who obtained the drugs from an illegal plantation in Aceh.

"The police are still looking for Arifin," said Aritonang.

An ounce of dried marijuana has a street value here of around Rp 350,000.

If found guilty, Budi faces between four and 15 years imprisonment and a fine of between Rp 150 million and Rp 750 million, as stipulated in Article 59 of the 1997 Psychotropic Law Number 5.

Ahmad and Agus would face life imprisonment, or at least 20 years in jail, and a maximum fine of Rp 30 million for violating Article 23 of the 1976 Narcotics Law Number 9. (cst)