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Suspected drug dealer shot dead by North Sumatra Police following physical assault
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North Sumatra Police chief Insp. Gen. Martuani Sormin Siregar (center, holding the mic) presents evidence comprising 100 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine and 50,000 ecstasy pills
seized from two suspects of an alleged Jakarta-Medan drugs syndicate in a presser at Bhayangkara Hospital in the North Sumatra Brimob headquarters in Medan on Aug. 18, 2020. The suspects were apprehended in Jakarta on Aug. 15. However, one of them was shot dead in Medan after trying to assault an officer on Aug. 17. (JP/Apriadi Gunawan)
A
suspected drug dealer was shot dead by the North Sumatra Police’s narcotics unit after having physically assaulted an officer with a sharp weapon in Medan on Monday.
North Sumatra Police chief Insp. Gen. Martuani Sormin Siregar said the suspect, identified as ST, was previously arrested in Kali Baru, North Jakarta on Saturday for his or her involvement in the distribution of illegal drugs in Jakarta and Medan under a syndicate.
On the same day but at a different location in Jakarta, the police also apprehended another suspect, HW, he added. HW was also a member of the syndicate affiliated with ST.
From the suspects, the police seized several bags of crystal methamphetamine weighing a total of 100 kilograms, as well as several bags of ecstasy containing a total of 50,000 pills as evidence, he said.
Martuani went on to say ST had admitted that the illegal substances were due to be transported to a warehouse in Medan.
Read also: Crystal meth now cheaper, 'stronger' in Indonesia as drug busts rise: UN report
Attempting to trace the syndicate, the police agreed to tail ST as he or she delivered the drugs to the Medan Industrial Zone on Monday, he said.
“Our personnel were closely watching the drug transfer when ST decided to fight us back, assaulting and injuring one of the officers, Adj. First Insp. Partono, with a machete,” Martuani said on Tuesday. “In response to the attack, the rest of the officers shot ST, who died when he was taken to the hospital.”
Martuani said the arrest of the two suspects was based on a tip-off provided by another alleged drug dealer, DEJ, who was apprehended two months ago along with his stash of 23 kg of crystal meth.
“DEJ revealed the whereabouts of ST and HW in Jakarta. They are in the same syndicate, a Jakarta-Medan network,” he added. (rfa)
