Zimbabwean, Indonesian nabbed with heroin

Zimbabwean, Indonesian nabbed with heroin

JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta Police detectives arrested a Zimbabwean
national and an Indonesian on Sunday evening, when caught red-
handed trying to sell heroin to undercover police officers, a
high-ranking city police officer said.

The officer, who requested anonymity, refused to give details
of the place of arrest and the names of the suspects, but said
that police officers set up the Indonesian girl and her
Zimbabwean boyfriend, who tried selling to undercover cops,
including to a female cop, at least 30 grams of heroin.

"We set them up and they bought it. This Zimbabwean had a
passport ready for the Indonesian woman. She had her passport,
visa and return ticket ready for a trip to Frankfurt, Germany,
and another foreign country, where she was supposed to sell the
drugs," the officer said.

"We thought we would fail, because this Zimbabwean was smart.
After several calls on the cellphone, then only did we get them
to meet us at a place here. The deal was between us and the man.
But suddenly, the girl came from nowhere and offered us the
drugs."

"We arrested them both. It's disgusting how foreigners use
Indonesian women to carry around their drugs for them."

The fact that some drug traffickers have begun recruiting
young Indonesian girls as smugglers and dealers was revealed by a
senior police officer last September.

Deputy chief of the National Police narcotics division Col.
Wilhelmus Laturette said this tactic had become common among
African-run drug syndicates, who use local Indonesian girls as
couriers.

He said it was a pity so many young local women had become
involved in the illegal trade.

"If you look around now, holding the arms of many African men
are Indonesian girls. We call it the 'love connection'. The
latest case is that of an Indonesian girl caught in Pakistan,"
Wilhelmus said, referring to Elizabeth Ruth, 26, an Indonesian
national arrested in mid-August at Karachi International Airport
carrying 3.3 kilograms of heroin.

He quoted a report of an investigation conducted by Pakistan
police as saying that Elizabeth admitted she had a Nigerian
boyfriend in Indonesia, who turned out to be a drug trafficker.

Earlier, customs and excise officials at Soekarno-Hatta
International Airport arrested 21-year-old Ayu Kusmaiti and her
25-year-old brother Astion Marlim for allegedly attempting to
smuggle 2.62 kilograms of pure heroin into the country on
Tuesday.

The heroin has a total street value of some Rp 2 billion
(US$250,000).

Head of the Soekarno-Hatta customs office Tonny Soenanto said
the girl confessed that she had "fallen for" a Thai man called
Achtung, who met her earlier this year at a fast food restaurant
near the Sarinah department store on Jl. Thamrin in Central
Jakarta.

"Achtung offered her a vacation, with two return tickets to
Bangkok. She left for Thailand with her brother, like a fool.
Achtung showed her a really good time there. Upon returning home,
Achtung gave her and her brother Keds shoes to wear. Both shoes
were laden with heroin in packets." (ylt)