Women arrested with 3.3 kg of heroin

Tue, 02/19/2008 11:40 AM  |  Headlines

Customs and excise officers have arrested a woman at Belawan Port, near Medan, North Sumatra, allegedly attempting to smuggle 3.3 kilograms of heroin into the country.

The suspect, identified as Winanti Rosmanasari, from Malang, East Java, is believed to be a courier for an international drug syndicate.

She arrived at the port at 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 17, from Penang, Malaysia, aboard the M.V. Ekspress Bahagia ferry.

Head of the North Sumatra Directorate General of Customs and Excise, Tambos Naiborhu, said Monday his officers arrested the woman after an X-ray inspection of her bags turned up a suspicious package.

"They found 3.3 kilograms of a powdered substance," Tambos said at his office.

Tambos said the suspect visited Laos, Thailand and Malaysia a few days before arriving in Belawan.

"We speculate the suspect obtained the heroin from one of the countries she visited," said Tambos.

A source at the Belawan Customs and Excise Office, speaking on condition of anonymity, alleged the suspect was hired by a syndicate in Bali to bring the heroin into country through sea and overland routes, which was thought to be safer than using air routes.

The source said had the suspect been able to evade inspection at the port, she would have carried the drugs overland via Jakarta and Surabaya, and then by ferry to Bali.

"The international drug ring in Bali ordered the drugs, which were to have been sold in Bali," the source added.

Tambos said his office had handed over the suspect along with the seized drugs to the police for further investigation.

Officers at North Sumatra Police Headquarters declined to comment on the case, saying the investigation was ongoing. -- JP/Apriadi Gunawan

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