Two caught in record drug haul

Two caught in record drug haul

JAKARTA (JP): Customs officers at the Soekarno-Hatta
International Airport have arrested two Singaporeans for
smuggling a record 70,431 Ecstasy pills into Indonesia.

Director of Prevention and Investigation at the Director
General of Customs and Excise, Thomas Sugijata, told The Jakarta
Post yesterday the two were apprehended on Sunday evening after
disembarked Cathay Pacific flight number 777 from Paris via Hong
Kong.

The two are identified as Khang Teck Chuan, 41, and Yeo Chee
Keng, 28.

During interrogation, Teng said he is a contractor and Chuan a
businessman in their country.

According to Thomas, the pills, which have an estimated price
of at least Rp 4.2 billion (US$1.8 million) through illicit
transactions here, were packed in three plastic bags kept in
camouflaged children toys boxes.

"Some of the pills were mixed with peppermints," he said.

Some others were covered with carbon papers, Thomas added.

After an X-Ray detector located the pills, customs officers
opened the boxes and questioned the owners in an interrogation
room.

"This is the largest haul we've ever made, so far, after the
seizure of 60,000 Ecstasy pills in the airport in April," Thomas
said.

During interrogation at the airport customs, Chuan and Keng
said the pills were ordered by members of an Ecstasy drug
traffickers syndicate, who they met several times in discotheques
overseas.

They said they are regular visitors of famous discotheques in
Paris, Singapore and Bangkok.

According to the two, they brought the drugs since they
departed Paris on Nov. 30 until they arrived at 4:46 p.m. Sunday.

Another airport source said that the pills were purchased from
Belgium capital of Brussels.

The two suspects, who are members of a large-scale drug ring
syndicate in Asia, were awaited by their local member at the
airport, said the source.

Chuan and Keng are now under anti-narcotics police detention,
waiting for the completion of the dossiers to stand trial.

Since the Ecstasy pills have become popular among youngsters
here, the airport Customs and Excise have made a remarkable
record in confiscating pills tried to be smuggled by drug
traffickers.

A total of 239,048 pills have been seized along with dozens of
suspects by the airport officers since March 1996, Thomas said.

Most of the embarkation place of the suspects were European
countries, particularly Amsterdam.

The second largest seizure of 60,000 Ecstasy pills in April
were kept by the owner in a bag but was left behind in order to
allow his other syndicate member, who was a worker at the
airport, to take it later at the Lost & Found office.

Thanks to the police support, all of the four members,
including a wife of a movie actor, Barry Prima, were arrested.
They are now waiting for their punishment this week at the
Tangerang court. (bsr)