Zarima's capture

Zarima, alias Zarina, the escaped Ecstasy drug trafficking suspect, has finally been caught. Like a scene from a movie, the comely woman was apprehended by FBI agents while shopping in a Houston, Texas supermarket in the USA.

We hope Zarima can be brought home and tried in Indonesia because, aside from the fact that she committed the crime in Indonesia, her trial here may help possibly expose any Ecstasy trafficking syndicates that are operating in this country. The Indonesian government will have to work hard in that direction, among other things by appointing capable lawyers to handle the case.

We have reason to hope that Zarima can be extradited from the U.S. because two years ago, two American citizens who were involved in a narcotics trafficking case in Jakarta were also extradited to the United States -- easily and without hassles in official procedure.

Legal procedures, however, are not instances of indebtedness. The U.S. government could possibly reject an Indonesian request for Zarima's extradition based on the argument that sufficient legal grounds are lacking. In that case, the Indonesian government will have to do the best it can to solve Zarima's case, find who is behind the plot and bring to justice whoever is guilty.

-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta