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Police nab ‘drug syndicate’ members selling marijuana vapes
Police investigators say a syndicate selling drugs online was controlled by a prisoner from a penitentiary in Bali.
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Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen Nana Sujana (second left) and narcotics unit head Comr. Mukti Juharsa (left) present evidence seized during the arrest of suspected members of a drug syndicate selling so-called gorilla tobacco (synthetic marijuana) during a press briefing at the Jakarta Police headquarters on June 29. (Antara/Galih Pradipta)
T
he Jakarta Police have detained seven members of a suspected drug syndicate trading vapes for so-called gorilla tobacco (synthetic marijuana) in the country.
The syndicate was controlled by a prisoner from a penitentiary in Bali, Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Nana Sudjana said during a press briefing on Monday. He went on to say that the group had sold its products online since January.
“It emerged on our radar following a crackdown on a marijuana transaction in Cawang, East Jakarta, on June 12,” Nana said, as quoted by tempo.co.
The seven suspects -- IK, AAN, NIKA, AAP, ANA, AEP and K -- allegedly mixed vape liquid with cannabis extract.
Police charged K, a prisoner in a penitentiary in Bali, with providing the raw materials imported from China. Meanwhile, IK allegedly mixed the ingredients at his house in Bali. The other suspects marketed the products through an e-commerce platform.
Nana added that the syndicate had earned billions of rupiah in profit from selling the drugs.
All suspects were charged with violating Article 114 (2) of Law No. 35/2009 on narcotics and Article 132 of the Criminal Code, which carry a maximum punishment of 20 years of imprisonment. (vny)
