T

he Jambi Police are hunting a local police officer and a former officer suspected of the possession of 8,000 ecstasy pills.

Jambi Police chief Brig. Gen. Lutfi Lubihanto said the manhunt had begun after the police raided a house belonging to BS, a local police officer, on Wednesday evening, finding the ecstasy pills inside a washing machine.

The raid was carried out to follow up information from four suspects earlier arrested for illegal drug possession.

During interrogation, three male suspects '€” identified as H, or Anto, 33; S, or Pak Gau, 43; and SA, 43 - and a female suspect, identified as A, or Ita, 40, informed officers from the Jambi Police narcotics directorate that they were storing a larger amount of drugs at BS'€™ house. BS, however, was not at the house when the raid took place.

'€œWe are now expanding the investigation of this case, as there are indications that a police officer was involved,'€ Lutfi said.

The force, Lutfi added, had also found evidence indicating the involvement of Ed, a former police officer, whom police investigators believe to be the ultimate owner of the drugs.

Each ecstasy pill confiscated by the police was worth between Rp 250,000 (US$17.4) and Rp 300,000 on the local market, Lutfi said.

'€œOverall, the confiscated drugs are worth at least Rp 2.5 billion,'€ he added.

The police, he went on, would charge the four suspects with Article 114, point 2, Article 112, point 2, and Article 132, point 2, of the 2009 Narcotics Law, which carry a maximum punishment of life in prison.

Soon after his inauguration last year, President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo pledged that his government would fight unreservedly against the distribution of illegal drugs in the country. The President ordered two rounds of executions of convicted drug smugglers earlier this year.

Despite the government'€™s ongoing efforts to curb the distribution of illegal drugs, law enforcers have found that narcotics users are present within their own institutions.

In January, the Jakarta Police'€™s narcotics directorate, for example, separately arrested two police officers for illegal drug possession.

Meanwhile in Jayapura, the Papua Police reported on Thursday that they had arrested a 41-year-old woman, identified as MZS, for allegedly attempting to transport 4 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine from Papua New Guinea (PNG) into Indonesia.

MZS, who was caught on Tuesday at the Skouw Wutung border post, was carrying the illegal drugs wrapped in four plastic packages stored in secret compartments in two suitcases.

'€œThe drugs were neatly wrapped up. We did not find them until we had opened up two hidden compartments within the suitcases,'€ Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. Paulus Waterpauw said.

A provisional investigation, Paulus said, had found that MZS, a resident of Jakarta, had traveled to Ghana prior to her return to Indonesia. On her way back, MZS made three stopovers in Manila, Port Moresby and Vanimo in PNG before entering Indonesia across the land border.

'€œThere are indications that she is a member of an international drug ring. We are now coordinating with the National Police to investigate the case,'€ he said.

According to police records, MZS was detained in 2007 for nine months at Pondok Bambu detention center in East Jakarta for drug abuse.

The police, Paulus added, would charge MZS with Article 112, point 2, of the 2009 Narcotics Law.