TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Police arrest men using crystal meth sold from prison
The National Police arrested on Sunday three men for having a drug party at an apartment in Mega Kuningan, South Jakarta
Change Size
T
he National Police arrested on Sunday three men for having a drug party at an apartment in Mega Kuningan, South Jakarta.
Among them was Reza Alexander Prawiro, known as a businessman in the entertainment industry.
According to police spokesman Insp. Gen. Anton Charliyan, the police also arrested two other men with the initials RB and ARM.
'The three of them have been named as suspects,' Anton said on Sunday as quoted by kompas.com.
He added that after raiding the apartment, the police also searched Reza's house at Jl. Taman Darmawangsa, South Jakarta, and found a package of crystal meth.
National Police's Criminal Investigations Directorate (Bareskrim) director Comr. Gen. Budi Waseso said that the drugs found during the raid came from a narcotics ring controlled by a convict inside a penitentiary.
'The drugs came from a penitentiary,' Budi told reporters on Monday.
According to Budi the police have sent a team to the prison to investigate the case.
'We can't yet tell the penitentiary's name to prevent them [the drugs dealer network] from dissimulating their illegal activities,' he added.
Furthermore, Budi revealed that the investigators have questioned four people involved in the network. However, he also concealed their names.
He pointed out that besides drugs, the police also found four firearms and ammunition during the raid.
'We are still investigating whether they have licenses to carry the firearms,' Budi said.
He further explained that the three of them are now being intensively interrogated in Cawang, East Jakarta.
During his tenure, President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo declared a tough stance on drugs and called for a united front on the eradication of drug abuse.
Citing a high incidence of drug abuse in the country and a debilitating impact on the nation's future, Jokowi called on relevant parties to step up their efforts in the war on drugs.
'I believe, given drugs' destructive power, there is no other choice for us but to declare war against drugs,' Jokowi said.
Jokowi has made tough drug policies a hallmark of his administration.
Declaring a 'drug emergency', he has called for the death penalty for drug dealers and rejected clemency pleas for convicted traffickers. Despite protests from human rights campaigners and the international community, his administration has executed 14 convicts ' including foreigners of multiple nationalities ' in two groups in January and May this year.
There are a further 60 drug convicts on death row, according to the National Narcotics Agency (BNN).
Despite the harsh penalties imposed on drug dealers, drug abuse continues to increase in Indonesia.
According to agency figures, the current rate of drug abuse has reached 4 million people, or 2.18 percent of the total population, up from 3.3 million in 2008. The BNN also claims that drug abuse has caused Rp 63 trillion (US$4.72 billion) in economic losses.
The government has set a target of reducing the number of drug abusers to 3.7 million by 2020.
Jokowi ordered all relevant parties and law enforcers to join hands with the BNN in fighting drug abuse and drug trafficking in the country, including by improving international intelligence cooperation. (ind)
