Three held, bags of ganja seized in drug operation
Three held, bags of ganja seized in drug operation
JAKARTA (JP): Police announced the seizure of several bags of
marijuana worth an estimated Rp 6 million (US$2,790) and captured
three men in connection with the drug haul.
Lt. Col. Latief Rabar, a spokesman for City Police, said
yesterday that the three, all residents of Bintara Jaya housing
complex, West Bekasi, were arrested on Wednesday.
The three were identified as Handoyo, 27, Irwansyah, 25, and
Coki, alias Ucok, 18, a high-school student.
Police said that Ucok and Handoyo bought the drug from
Irwansyah, who claimed to have received it from Tampubolon who is
registered on the police black list as a notorious drug
trafficker.
Lt. Col. Djoko Satriyo, chief of the Drug Investigative Office
at city police headquarters, said that drug traffickers have
moved their operations to the suburbs since the launching of
Operation Cleansing in April.
"They moved to suburban areas because their sales dropped
drastically in Jakarta since the operation," Djoko said.
The black market price of marijuana in the city has reportedly
risen from around Rp 800,000 (US$372) per kilogram two years ago
to Rp 1,800,000 ($837) due to lack of supply since the police
started getting tough on drug trafficking syndicates.
In order to avoid police dragnets, drug traffickers who
formerly shipped the marijuana by bus from Aceh, a major drug
producing region in northern Sumatra, have turned to the sea as a
transport option.
Meanwhile Australian police thanked city police for their
cooperation which led to huge recent seizure.
Gratitude
In a letter dated Aug. 6 sent to the Deputy of the National
Police Chief for Operational Affairs Maj. Gen. Koesparmono Irsan,
the Australian Federal Police (AFP) expressed gratitude to city
police, who tipped them off over an attempt to smuggle 14 tons of
marijuana to Australia from Thailand. AFP successfully foiled the
smuggling attempt and arrested the smugglers.
Djoko said the Jakarta City Police gave the tip to AFP in
March 1993.
In the beginning, Djoko said, city police confiscated one
kilogram of marijuana from several Indonesians, who claimed to
have obtained the goods from sailors at the Sunda Kelapa port,
North Jakarta.
Based on the information, police apprehended 14 sailors, who
later confessed that they had received the goods from the crew of
an Indonesian-flagged ship which had set sail for Australia
carrying 14 tons marijuana produced in Thailand.
City Police sent the message via the Australian embassy in
Jakarta to AFP who later staged a large-scale drug interdiction
operation.
The Australian police arrested the smugglers, one of whom was
identified as Michael Sidney. Michael was recently sentenced to
seven years imprisonment by an Australian court. (jsk)