West Jakarta Police Destroy Rp 119 Billion in Narcotics, Saving 3.5 Million Lives
The West Jakarta Metro Police have destroyed a large quantity of narcotic precursor chemicals and finished drugs seized from an international trafficking network, with the total evidence valued at Rp 119 billion. Seven suspects have been named in the case, comprising six Indonesian citizens and one foreign national from China, identified by the initials PD, DO, RS, MFY, MH, VW, and GE.
The destroyed evidence included 308,000 carisoprodol pills weighing 130 kilograms, 40 barrels containing approximately one tonne of carisoprodol powder, 195 sachets of ‘happy water’ weighing about one kilogramme, 500 grammes of ketamine, and 1,650 kilogrammes of supporting raw materials used in the drug manufacturing process. All evidence was destroyed in accordance with legal procedures after coordination with the prosecutor’s office and the court, witnessed by prosecutors and the suspects’ legal counsel.
West Jakarta Metro Police Chief, Senior Commissioner Nasriadi, stated that the disclosure demonstrates the Indonesian National Police’s seriousness in severing the narcotics distribution chain. ‘If all these raw materials had been successfully processed into narcotics, it is estimated they could have damaged approximately 3,533,000 lives with an economic value reaching around Rp 119 billion,’ he said on Thursday.
The police chief commended the performance of the West Jakarta Metro Police Narcotics Unit, which uncovered the network through cross-regional development. He affirmed that his party will take firm action against all forms of drug abuse from upstream to downstream.
Head of the Narcotics Investigation Unit, AKBP Vernal A Sambo, explained that the case began with a public tip-off regarding a suspicious shipment through an expedition service in West Jakarta. From the investigation, officers discovered hundreds of thousands of pills at a hotel in Penjaringan, North Jakarta. The investigation then extended to Mijen, Central Java, which served as a production warehouse containing around 250 kilograms of raw materials and pressing machines. Further development led to Cakung, suspected to be the distribution centre for the Class 1 narcotic precursor carisoprodol powder.
Sambo stated that the network is known to have distributed its products to several regions in Central Java, East Java, as well as South Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and East Kalimantan. Police suspect the perpetrators were also attempting to expand their market to Jakarta, but were thwarted before the goods could circulate in the capital.
To account for their actions, the suspects are charged under multiple articles of the new Criminal Code and the Narcotics Law, carrying potential penalties of death, life imprisonment, or a prison sentence ranging from a minimum of five years to a maximum of 20 years, along with fines ranging from Rp 500 million to Rp 2 billion.