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Undercover police charge Medan dealers with selling fake drugs
Two drug dealers who thought they could pull a fast one on the police have learned the hard way that law enforcement doesn't play jokes.
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Failed trick: A still from Tribun Medan TV shows drug dealers Diki Zulkarnaen (second left), 40, and Septian Wili Perdana (third left), 24, who were arrested by undercover officers of the Medan Police narcotics unit on Jan. 31, 2022. The two suspects have been charged with several drug offenses, including the distribution of fake drugs. (YouTube/Tribun MedanTV) (YouTube/Courtesy of Tribun MedanTV)
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rug dealers Diki Zulkarnaen and Septian Wili Perdana figured out they were dealing with undercover narcotics officers of the Medan Police narcotics unit, so they decided to play a trick on them by selling them salt and sugar instead of methamphetamine.
But their plan backfired when the police arrested and charged them for distributing fake drugs.
"On their arrest by the Medan Police investigation team, 3,000 grams [...] of salt were confiscated. The two suspects admitted selling fake drugs on four occasions," North Sumatra Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Hadi Wahyudi said on Monday, as quoted by Tribun Medan.
Hadi said the police had received a tip about dealers who were peddling bulk sales of crystal meth in Medan Maimun district of the provincial capital. Undercover officers then established contact with one of the suspected dealers to buy methamphetamine, with the deal arranged to take place at a house on Jl. Halat in Medan Area district.
The officers were initially convinced that the substance they had been sold was meth, since it was packaged in wrapping paper marked with Guanyinwang, a brand of Chinese tea dealers commonly used for smuggling crystal meth.
While the pair was not found to be in possession of drugs, the police laid several drug charges against Diki, 40, and Septian, 24, including a charge for selling fake drugs as well as using illict drugs.
"The dealers are indeed drug users. At the time of their arrest, their urine tested positive for methamphetamine," Hadi said on Wednesday, as quoted by Detik.com.
However, Hadi also told the online news portal that the police had suspected fake drugs were being sold in the area, so they arrested Diki and Septian to verify their suspicions.
The two suspects were charged under Article 114, paragraph 2 and Article 112, paragraph 2, as well as Article 132 of Law No. 35/2009 on narcotics, which carries a minimum sentence of 6 years in prison and a maximum penalty of either life or death.
During their interrogation, Diki and Septian admitted they had made a profit of Rp 2 million (US$139.37) from a single sale of fake drugs, priced at Rp 400,000 per package.
The suspects are currently in the custody of the National Narcotics Agency.
