Police nab pot couriers, on lookout for dealer

Indah Setiawati , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 07/19/2008 11:02 AM | City

Two suspected marijuana couriers who worked for an alleged dealer in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam were arrested in two separate places in Central Jakarta on Wednesday, police said Friday.

"We actually targeted arresting Mawardi, alias Zein, because he is believed to be a dealer of Aceh marijuana in Jakarta," Sawah Besar Police chief Comr. Umar Surya Fana told reporters.

He said the dealer, Mawardi, was still at large.

Police first arrested Razali, who came from Pante village in Bireun, at his boarding house on Jl. Suprapto in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.

They found 56 kilograms of marijuana wrapped in one-kilogram packages in his dresser.

"We got information from the neighbors and investigated Razali for a week. After the arrest, we probed him and got information about Nur Aeni, another courier who worked for Mawardi," Umar said.

Undercover police set up Nur Aeni to meet Razali in Cempaka Putih Islamic Hospital at 3 p.m., but she did not bring any marijuana.

Police raided her house on Jl. Sungai Barito in Cilincing, North Jakarta, to find 73 grams of marijuana.

Both Razali and Nur Aeni said their jobs were to store the marijuana and wait for Mawardi's instructions when he found a buyer.

"He would call and ask me to deliver marijuana ordered in a place the buyer agreed to meet," he said, adding that a kilogram of marijuana cost Rp 1.8 million (US$190).

He said he knew that Mawardi, a fellow Acehnese, brought the marijuana from Aceh, but he did not know how it was transported.

Police raided Mawardi's rented house in Kelapa Gading based on Razali's information, but failed to find him.

"His neighbors said he was currently in Aceh with his family," Umar said.

Koja Police chief Comr. Yudi Sulistianto said his officers recently arrested two people who allegedly were transporting 600 grams of marijuana.

"We cannot reveal much information now because we are still investigating the case to identify bigger dealers," he told The Jakarta Post.

Three months ago, police arrested Tri Wahyu, a suspected drug dealer who was allegedly part of a drug ring based in Aceh, and confiscated five kilograms of marijuana in his rented house in Pamulang, Tangerang.

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