Drug busts conducted by the police in Jakarta and several regions across Java in the past couple of weeks have netted about Rp 150 billion worth of illegal drugs and related raw materials.
A tour Friday of a Depok factory raided in the police operation, dubbed Operation Metropermata 2009, revealed barrels of chemicals including ammonia, methanol and acetone, as well as ephedrine, a drug used to make crystal methamphetamine, and thousands of Ecstasy pills.
The Depok factory was also equipped with CCTVs and bunkers, a first in the history of illegal drug factory busts.
"This one in Depok alone has about 9.8 tons of raw material," National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri said during the tour.
The tour showcased the evidence gathered during a series of busts across Java within the last two weeks.
According to the police's press release, the discoveries began after the police arrested two people, identified only by their initials, in Grogol, West Jakarta, last month. Two more suspects were later arrested, including a dentist, and the discovery of the Depok factory.
There were enough chemicals in the factory to make 5 kilograms of Ecstasy and 15 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine per day, police said.
"If all the raw material at the Depok factory was used, we estimate it could have been turned into about 11.5 million Ecstasy pills and hundreds of kilograms of high-grade crystal methamphetamine," said National Police deputy spokesman Sr. Comr. Ketut Untung Yoga Ana.
"That's enough to drug the whole population of Jakarta," he added.
Earlier this month, three other factories linked to the drug ring were discovered in Jakarta, on Jl. Bhinneka, Jl. Daan Mogot and at Pantai Indah Kapuk.
Other factories were uncovered in Jepara, Central Java, and Surabaya in East Java. The police said the drug ring began operating in January this year and was allegedly tied to drug deals in Hong Kong and Thailand, among other countries.
The police have since arrested 15 suspects. Besides the four netted earlier, the others include G.A.T., 50-year-old R.I.F., G.U.S., 42-year-old R.I.F., M.E.R. and S.U.P., with two unidentified suspects. They allegedly acted as distributors, suppliers and workers, the police said.
Three other suspects have fled the country, with the police already in contact with its international counterparts to apprehend them.
Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo A.S. urged the public to be on the alert for shady activities in their neighborhoods.
"This shows that Indonesia, particularly Jakarta, has turned into more than a market for drug dealers, but also a production site," he said.
The ministry's data shows an increase in the number of illegal drugs found over the past three years, from 466,000 in 2006, to 1,291,000 last year.
Attorney General Hendarman Supandji, National Intelligence Agency chief Syamsir Siregar also took part in Friday's tour.
| 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|