Small drug dealers nabbed, with ringleader on the run

Indah Setiawati , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 07/05/2008 12:21 PM | City

Police have begun a hunt for a suspected drug ringleader after arresting a group of alleged dealers operating at a night club in West Jakarta.

"His name is Simon but he is known as Tibo. We are still chasing him," head of the drug division at the Central Jakarta Police precinct Comr. Yossy Runtukahu told reporters Friday.

Head of the drug unit at the precinct, Adj. Comr. Indra Tarijan, said it would be more difficult to capture Simon if he was aware of the arrests of his accomplices.

"The link is broken at Simon. Based on information from the arrested dealers, Simon has a boss who supplies him with the ecstasy," he said.

He said police were trying to learn the address of the 38-year old fugitive, who has a family in Jakarta.

"We're trying to dig information about him from his friends and at places where he usually hangs out," Indra said.

Police arrested seven dealers linked to Simon in Kemayoran in Central Jakarta and at K7 discotheque in West Jakarta. They confiscated a total of 1,092 methylenedioxy methamphetamine (ecstasy) pills.

They also seized Rp 6.5 million (US$698) in cash, which had been obtained by two dealers through the sale of 50 pills.

"They sold pills at Rp 120,000 each, but a package of 25 pills would cost around Rp 1.8 million," Yossy said, adding that bulk buyers were usually dealers.

All of the dealers are unemployed people who come from outside Jakarta, police said.

Yossy said they had been charged with violating a 1997 law on narcotics and could face a maximum of 20 years imprisonment.

Police were earlier informed of a dealer identified as Rafles Yulian by an undercover police detective.

A police woman then called the buyer, and pretended that she was interested in buying ecstasy and they agreed a meeting place. He delivered the goods to a location on Jl. Kalibaru Timur in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday at 8 p.m..

"She asked him to bring the ecstasy, and wore a white T-shirt. After we arrested him, he led us to Hanny Manansang, 36, another dealer who sold the ecstasy pills to him," Indra said.

He said police later arrested Gelfonni Selanno, 26, at a parking lot at Plaza Gajah Mada in Central Jakarta, and later three other suspected dealers -- Aqualino Jacob Sigarlaki, 41, Suprapto Jaelani, 30, Nelson Ryan Supit, 22, -- at K7 discotheque in West Jakarta on Thursday at 3 a.m.

Agustinus Ale, 29, the last dealer to be arrested at the discotheque that evening, said he had met with Simon at 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

He said Simon had told him to wait for him at the discotheque because he had something to do in another place.

"He did not tell me where he would go, but he gave me a key to the storage room, where he kept the 1,000 ecstasy pills," he said.

He said he received an SMS from Aqualino, who had ordered 50 ecstasy pills, shortly before police appeared on the scene to make the arrest.

"I did not know that the SMS was actually from police, so I told him (Aqualino) to meet me at a garden," he said.

He said he had met Simon last year, and had been offered a job as a drug dealer.

Last month, the Jakarta Police arrested three dealers in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta, and Tangerang in Banten.

Police confiscated 10,740 ecstasy pills and 18 milliliters of liquid methamphetamine, which was to be delivered to a buyer from Semarang, Central Java.

In January, undercover officers arrested two suspected drug dealers for possession of 800 ecstasy pills and 285 grams of shabu-shabu (crystal methamphetamine) on Jl. I Gusti Ngurah Rai in Klender, East Jakarta.

Jakarta Police identified the suspects as Efer Pattikawa, 25, and Andriyunus Lewol, alias Tinus, 37.

Also in January, detectives apprehended a married couple for possession of 1,863 ecstasy pills, 590 grams of shabu-shabu (crystal methamphetamine), an undisclosed amount of marijuana and a pistol and bullets at their house on Jl. Sunter Kirana VII in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta.

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