West Aceh protocol civil servant suspended over methamphetamine use

The West Aceh district government has temporarily suspended a civil servant with the initials MDN (41) who was arrested in a suspected methamphetamine abuse case. West Aceh Regent Tarmizi said the measure was taken as an initial administrative sanction while awaiting the ongoing legal process with the police. “There is no effort whatsoever. We give full authority to law enforcement, we hand it over to law enforcement. There is no defence,” Tarmizi told reporters in Meulaboh on Saturday. According to him, the local government has also imposed a sanction in the form of a 50 per cent salary cut for the individual until a court ruling with permanent legal force is issued. He said the local government has repeatedly reminded all civil servants not to get involved with narcotics, both during inaugurations and on various other occasions, including during a roll call after Eid al-Fitr. “We have reminded them many times that civil servants must not be involved with narcotics in any form,” he said. Tarmizi revealed that MDN had been serving in the Protocol Section of the West Aceh District Secretariat. The West Aceh district government, Tarmizi continued, will take firm action against any civil servant proven to be involved in narcotics abuse as a form of commitment to maintaining the integrity of the apparatus and public services. Previously, MDN (41) was arrested by the West Aceh Police Narcotics Unit in mid-June 2026. He was detained in Gampong Lapang, Johan Pahlawan sub-district, along with evidence including one packet of methamphetamine weighing 2.2 grams and a smoking device (bong).