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View all search resultsTwo arrested in N. Sumatra's biggest crystal-meth haul
Officers from the Tanjung Balai Water Police foiled an attempt on Saturday to smuggle into the country 57
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O
fficers from the Tanjung Balai Water Police foiled an attempt on Saturday to smuggle into the country 57.5 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine or "shabu-shabu" from Malaysia, worth Rp 57 billion (US$4.73 million), carried by two Indonesian fishermen via the Malacca Strait.
North Sumatra Police narcotics chief Sr. Comr. Toga Habinsaran Panjaitan said on Sunday that it was the biggest haul of the drug ever made in North Sumatra.
He added that attempts to smuggle crystal meth from Malaysia via North Sumatra waters had recently been increasing.
Toga said that, generally, drug-trafficking syndicates from Malaysia used fishermen as their couriers to smuggle crystal meth into North Sumatra waters.
The two arrested fishermen -- Syahrizal alias Kudeng, 40, a Tanjung Balai resident, and Syahrial alias Coy, 30, from Asahan ' have been detained.
'The payments [for drug smuggling] can be substantial. A fisherman can receive between Rp 20 million and Rp 30 million per kilogram of crystal meth successfully smuggled into the country,' Toga told The Jakarta Post.
He admitted that it was hard for authorities to monitor drug-smuggling attempts allegedly perpetrated by fishermen because they often used small, remote mooring spots along North Sumatra's coastline, with Belawan and Tanjung Balai being popular transaction spots. (ebf)
