D

rug smuggling is expected to peak again this year, with international smugglers using Soekarno-Hatta International Airport as their entry point into the country, an official said.

The last such peak occurred in 2010 and gradually declined in the following years only to surge again this year.

The previous peaks were in 2004, when heroin and cocaine led the trend, and in 1998, when crystal methamphetamine began to dominate drug-smuggling attempts.

The Customs and Excise Office recorded 16 drug-smuggling cases in 2008, 38 in 2009 and 63 in 2010.

The number declined slightly to 52 in 2011 and to 39 last year. However, it jumped to 33 cases in the first four months of this year alone.

Describing what the office said was the largest bust in two years, customs officers seized more than 15 kilograms (kg) of crystal methamphetamine during an inspection of the luggage of '€œnervous'€ passengers upon their arrival on April 2 at the airport.

The drugs were concealed in five containers of powdered milk in carry-on baggage on a Garuda Indonesia flight from Hong Kong, via the Philippines, not Malaysia or Singapore, the smugglers'€™ favored routes, to throw officials off the scent.

In two recent cases, airport customs officers arrested a Nigerian, a South African and two Indonesians for allegedly smuggling a total of 1.7 kg of crystal methamphetamine through Soekarno-Hatta.

Officers stopped the South African, a 22-year-old female identified only as MD, due to her suspicious behavior upon arrival from Singapore on April 16, airport customs office chief Okto Irianto said on Tuesday.

'€œOur scanning device detected 1.55 kg of crystal methamphetamine hidden in a false compartment inside her luggage,'€ Okto said, adding that the street value of the drugs was Rp 2.2 billion (US$226,600).

In connection with the case, a Nigerian, identified only as UA, 35, and an Indonesian woman, identified only as LW, 32, were arrested in Slipi and Kemanggisan, Central Jakarta, respectively.

In the other case, customs officers foiled an attempt to smuggle 100 grams of crystal methamphetamine worth Rp 130 million, following a tip-off from an intelligence agent.

The drugs were hidden in four pieces of soap sent through a courier company from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

'€œThe drugs were in nine capsules and cast in four pieces of soap,'€ Okto said.

An Indonesian man, identified only as HS, 32, was arrested in Pamulang, South Tangerang, in relation to that case.

National Narcotics Agency spokesman Soemirat Dwiyanto called on residents to always monitor their neighborhoods to help prevent the distribution of illegal drugs.