The Jakarta Police have arrested award-winning actor Irwan Susetyo Pakusadewo, better known as Tio Pakusadewo, for alleged possession of crystal methamphetamine, known locally as shabu-shabu.

The 54-year-old public figure, who has won two Citra Awards for best leading actor in the movies Lagu Untuk Seruni (A Song for Seruni) in 1990 and Identitas (Identity) in 2008, was apprehended at his house in Ragunan, South Jakarta, on Tuesday at around 11 p.m.

In the raid, the police seized three packages of crystal meth with a total weight of 1.06 grams, a set of tools to consume the drug consisting of a bong, water pipe and lighter, as well as a cell phone.

Jakarta Police cyber crime unit head Adj. Sr. Comr. Audie Latuheru said on Friday that Tio, who became widely famous after appearing in award-winning movie Cinta dalam Sepotong Roti (Love in a Slice of Bread) in 1990, bought the drug for Rp 1.3 million (US$95.9) per gram from a woman, identified only as V, who is currently at large.

He said the actor had allegedly abused drugs for about ten years.

“We are still investigating the case for further details. He [Tio] said he had previously stopped using the drug for several months before starting to use it again recently,” Audie told the press. “He claimed he used the drug again after suffering a leg injury.”

The police has named him a suspect for the alleged possession of crystal meth. The actor, who has been in at least 55 movies since 1987, was charged under Articles 114, 112 and 127 of Law No. 35/2009 on Narcotics, which carries a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment.

Tio said he regretted what had happened to him and encouraged anyone not to follow suit. “For those who are still abusing drugs, I hope that you can stop it now. I am a [bad] example you must not follow,” Tio said.

The arrest of Tio adds to a long list of celebrities involved in drug abuse cases, including the country’s most popular movie star in the early 1980s Roy Marten and popular 1980s musician Fariz RM.

Roy was sentenced to three years in prison in 2008 for using crystal meth. The movie star, who was appointed by the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) to promote an anti-drugs campaign, was apprehended for drug abuse for the second time, along with four accomplices, in a hotel in Surabaya, East Java. Ironically, he had reportedly been in Surabaya to witness the signing of an anti drugs cooperation agreement between the agency and Surabaya-based newspaper Jawa Pos.

He was first found guilty of drug abuse in 2006, when he was sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment.

Fariz was arrested in 2007 for possession of marijuana and was sentenced to eight months in prison. The musician was seized again in 2015, this time for using marijuana and heroin. Fariz was nabbed along with another musician named Ari Tri Sosianto from the band Padi.

This year alone, the police have arrested a number of public figures for drug abuse, including dangdut singer Ridho Roma, rapper Iwa K, singer Marcello “Ello” Tahitoe, Axel Matthew Thomas, who is the eldest son of actor Jeremy Thomas, as well as actress Pretty Asmara.

With drug abuse seeming to be part of people’s lifestyle nowadays, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has called for firm action by law enforcement agencies. He even granted shoot-on-sight orders for dealers and traffickers.

London-based Amnesty International has revealed that a total of 55 Indonesian and foreign nationals were killed without judicial process between January and August this year, having been shot by law enforcement agencies.

Even with such a threat, drug dealers and traffickers always invent new types of drugs and new ways to distribute them.

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