4 kg of ketamine seized at airport

Customs and excise officers at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport have arrested an Indian national for attempting to smuggle four kilograms of ketamine worth Rp 4 billion (US$444,000).

Airport customs office chief Bahaduri Wijayanta said Tuesday the suspect, Shahul Al Hamid, 37, arrived on a Garuda Indonesia from Bangkok on his way to Surabaya on Monday.

“The Customs Technical Unit officers conducting profile analysis on passengers managed to detect the drugs in two of the suspects briefcases,” he said.

Upon inspecting the contents of the luggage, officers found the substance hidden in false compartments amid sari (Indian traditional attire), he said.

The suspect, a gas station worker in India, said he was asked to deliver the substance to a contact in Surabaya, who would then pay him 5,000 Indian rupees (US$110).  

“Whoever was to meet the suspect in Surabaya must've known about the arrest because he did not show up at the rendezvous in Surabaya,” Bahaduri added.

According to Bahaduri, it was the sixth ketamine case out of a total of 22 drug smuggling cases customs officials have foiled this year.

Smuggling ketamine into the country carries a maximum punishment of 15 years jail and a Rp 1.5 billion fine.

“Both the suspect and the drug evidence would be handed over to the airport police for further investigations,” Bahaduri said.