The number of drug smuggling attempts foiled at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport rose drastically this year compared to the last few years, an official from the Banten chapter of Customs and Excise Office said Friday.
The office head Bachtiar said that as of Oct. 20, his officers had managed to thwart 28 drugs trafficking attempts this year.
"This is maybe our year," Bachtiar told The Jakarta Post.
"We have seized a total of 49.3 kilograms of shabu-shabu *crystal methamphetamine*, 22.800 milliliters of raw materials to make shabu-shabu, 11.3 kilograms of ketamine, 100,225 ecstasy pills and 55 grams of cocaine," he said.
Officers have arrested 33 suspects. Iranians topped the list of arrested drug runners by country of origin, with 10 women and two men arrested, followed by Indonesians (11), Malaysians (5), Chinese (2), Singaporean (1), Dutch (1), an Indian and an American.
Last year, customs officers foiled a total of 18 drug smuggling attempts and confiscated 40.2 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, 14.2 kilograms of ketamine, 29,637 ectasy pills and 630 grams of cocaine at the airport.
Officers arrested 24 suspects between January and December. Most of the suspects were Indonesians (8) and Taiwanese (8), followed by Malaysians (3), Chinese (2), Thais (2) and a UK citizen.
"This year, we found Iranian nationals smuggling shabu-shabu in liquid form in food containers and ceramic bottles. This is a new modus operandi," Bachtiar said.
The number of foiled drug-smuggling attempts at the airport reached its peak in 2004 after steadily increasing since 1999. Most of the smuggled drugs are heroin and cocaine.
"When the Tangerang District Court made the sentences for drug smuggling harsher, the number of trafficking attempts reportedly declined between 2005 and 2007."
In 2006 and 2007, there were only eight arrests for domestic drug smuggling at the airport and no arrests for trafficking drugs from overseas.
On Oct. 19, the customs seized a number of psychotropic substances and apprehended eight Iranian female drug mules. The psychotropic substances comprised 40 kilograms of shabu-shabu in liquid and crystal form worth Rp 102 billion.
"This is the biggest smuggling attempt with a new modus ope-randi that officers have ever foiled at the airport," Customs director general Anwar Supriadi said on Wednesday.
Following the drug bust, Anwar immediately told customs officers at other international airports, such as Polonia in Medan, Juanda in Surabaya and I Gusti Ngurah Rai in Bali, to be on the alert because there might be similar smuggling attempts in other airports.
Bachtiar lauded his officers at the airport for their achievements in the big bust. "However, we won't sit on our laurels, since drug runners will find new ways to smuggle drugs into the country."
