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Customs thwarts postal drug smuggling
The postal service is apparently a favored method being used by drug smuggling syndicates nowadays
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he postal service is apparently a favored method being used by drug smuggling syndicates nowadays. Another attempt to smuggle drugs into Bali has been thwarted by Bali customs officials, this time in three packages sent from Malaysia.
Through a joint investigation with Bali Police, one man has been arrested.
The first package, which was addressed to someone with the initials KS, was found on Saturday, June 28. The package contained two story books, four pieces of clothing and 12 food packages. Inside the book, officers found 206 grams of crystal methamphetamine wrapped in aluminum foil.
Two other packages were found Monday. In a package also addressed to someone with the initials KS, officers found two packages of crystal meth wrapped in aluminum foil also inside a story book. The drugs in the package totaled 327 g. The package also contained 10 packs of food.
Meanwhile, the last package was addressed to S and contained 206 g of crystal meth. As with the other packages, the drugs were wrapped in aluminum foil and put inside a Hello Kitty story book. Seven pieces of clothing and 12 packs of food were also present.
'All the drugs were found when the packages were run through an X-ray machine,' Rahmat Subagio, head of the customs office for Bali, West and East Nusa Tenggara, told a press conference Tuesday.
In connection with the case, a man identified only by his initials, EEP, has been arrested. EEP came to the post office Monday to collect one of the packages. 'We believe that he was only told by someone to pick up the package,' Rahmat said.
However, Rahmat said, the investigation would continue to find out who actually was supposed to receive the drugs. 'As of now, EEP hasn't told us who has the drugs. The police investigator will look into this more deeply,' he said.
Even though EEP only tried to collect the last package, Rahmat alleged that all the packages belonged to one person. 'We believe that all the packages are related as the modus operandi is similar. The items in the packages were also similar,' he said.
EEP could be charged with violating Article 113, subsection 2, of the Narcotics Law, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of Rp 10 billion (US$834).
Earlier in the year, three other attempts to smuggle drugs through the post office were thwarted. In mid-May, customs officers intercepted a package containing 715 g of crystal meth mailed from South Africa.
