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Military police hunt soldier involved in Aceh drug syndicate
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Suspected: National Narcotics Agency (BNN) personnel seal the location where they exchanged fire with suspected members of a drug syndicate in Medan, North Sumatra, on March 1. (JP/Apriadi Gunawan)
T
he Indonesian Military (TNI) has issued a “dead or alive” arrest warrant for one of its members, who is allegedly involved in a drug syndicate that was recently uncovered by the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) in Medan.
The Bukit Barisan Military Regional Command (Kodam) and the Medan Military Police Detachment (Denpom) have ordered their members to arrest First Sgt. Habibie, who fled after BNN officers raided his house.
“As of today, we are still hunting him down, [we will catch him] dead or alive. The TNI never compromises with members involved with drugs,” Bukit Barisan Military Command Col. Edy Hartono told The Jakarta Post recently.
Habibie has been pursued by the military police following a raid by the BNN on Wednesday.
During the raid, BNN personnel were involved in a cross fire with drug dealers from Aceh on Jl. Medan-Binjai Km 10.5, Deli Serdang regency, North Sumatra.
A drug dealer identified as Rizwan, 37, of Aceh, was killed in the firefight when BNN officers strafed his car.
The officers also arrested six other persons suspected of being drug dealers from another car they strafed. The six were identified as Hendra Saputra, Zakaria, Maulana, Safrizal, Andri and Saiful, all from Aceh.
(Read also: BNN shoots dead drug trafficker in Medan)
After their arrest, members of the group told authorities that Habibie was involved in the drug syndicate.
The BNN then raided Habibie’s house on Jl. TB Simatupang, Medan, but he had already fled.
From the syndicate the BNN seized 46.9 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine or sabu as it is locally known, 3,620 ecstasy pills and 445 happy five pills.
Edy said that he hoped to capture Habibie alive to find out if other military members were also involved in drug dealing.
“That’s why we want to have Habibie captured alive so he will be able to tell the whole story,” said Edy, adding that Habibie was currently assigned at the Denpom of the Kodam Bukit Barisan Medan.
He asserted that Habibie would be dismissed from the military without honor and sent to prison once arrested, adding that many military personnel had been dishonorably discharged for illegal drug trafficking.
In the last two months, according to Edy, 68 other military personnel assigned to Kodam Bukit Barisan had been dishonorably discharged, mostly because of drug cases.
He added that in the near future 140 others would be dismissed for the same reason.
He said various initiatives had been carried out to detect personnel involved with drugs, including routine urine tests. “We want the military to be free of drugs,” he said.
Kodam I Bukit Barisan’s Denpom commander Col. Cpm Yusri Nuryanto said he was angry to find out that one of his men was involved with drugs, saying that it tarnished the TNI’s good image.
“For this we will hunt him down [and capture him], dead or alive,” Yusri said.
