The Palembang city police thwarted an attempt by two drug dealers to sell five kilograms of crystal methamphetamine in the city on December 3, 2021.
The suspects, identified as Bayu Prabowo and Wahyu Romadhon, informed police investigators that they obtained the drugs from a drug lord in Riau province, Palembang city police chief, Sen.Coms. Irwan Prawira, said.
“The two suspects were apprehended in a raid at a hotel in Palembang,” he informed in a statement that ANTARA received here on Wednesday.
The drug lord who supplied the crystal meth package to the suspects has been identified by his initials as A, Prawira said, adding that the drugs were meant to be sold to drug users in Palembang, the capital of South Sumatra province.
Prabowo and Romadhon confessed that A was to pay them Rp5 million for every kilogram of the crystal meth they sold, he said.
The Palembang city police are continuing to probe the drug case and have launched a hunt for the Riau-based drug lord, he added.
Police have charged the suspects under Articles 114 (2) and 112 (2) of the Narcotics Law. If found guilty, they would face the death penalty or life imprisonment.
South Sumatra is one of the provinces in the Indonesian island of Sumatra which remains vulnerable to drug crimes.
In March this year, for instance, personnel from the National Narcotics Agency (BNN)-South Sumatra Office arrested Samsul Bahri (39), a former legislator from Aceh’s Pidie Jaya district while he was trying to transport five kg of drugs in his car.
Following his arrest, BNN also apprehended two more suspects in connection with the case.
Domestic and transnational drug dealers view Indonesia as a potential market owing to its huge population and millions of drug users.
The drug trade in the nation is valued at nearly Rp66 trillion.
People from all strata of society are falling prey to drugs in the country regardless of their socio-economic and professional backgrounds.
Over the past few decades, the Indonesian government has taken harsh punitive action against drug barons found smuggling and trading drugs in the country.
The National Narcotics Agency (BNN) has sought capital punishment for those involved in the drug trade in the country.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has issued shoot-at-sight orders against drug kingpins.
However, this has failed to deter drug traffickers, who continue to treat Indonesia as a main market, prompting Indonesian law enforcers to step up vigilance against them.
Source: Antara News