JAKARTA: The National Narcotics Agency (BNN) in cooperation with the Central Java and Yogyakarta customs and excise offices uncovered on Thursday the attempted smuggling of over 100 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine from China.
BNN head Comr. Gen. Budi Waseso said his officers arrested eight people suspected to be part of an international drug smuggling network based in Pakistan.
“Of the eight suspects, four are Pakistani citizens and four others are Indonesians,” Budi told reporters in a case expose held at a furniture warehouse belonging to CV Jepara Raya Internasional in Pekalongan subdistrict, Jepara, Central Java.
The Pakistani suspects were identified as Faiq, Amran Malik, Riaz and Toriq, while the Indonesian suspects were Yulian, Tommy, Kristiadi and Didit. Didit is a resident of Pekalongan who rented the warehouse from a person named Yunpelizar.
Didit allegedly disguised the warehouse as a furniture finishing factory, but it was reportedly used to store the smuggled meth. The drugs were then repacked for further distribution across the country.
The crystal meth was smuggled inside electricity generators. Of 194 generator sets found, the BNN had examined 94, from which they collected 100 kilograms of drugs.
Budi said the BNN team arrested the suspects on Wednesday as they were unloading machines that had arrived at the warehouse a day earlier.
He said the drugs were packed and covered in carbon paper to avoid X-ray detection.
“Don’t mention the value. A gram of meth could be used by five people. Smugglers clearly destroy Indonesia’s future generations,” Budi said, adding that the suspects worked with Indonesians and even married local women to ease their business.
He called on neighborhood units (RT), community units (RW) and all people to be more careful about foreigners wishing to marry Indonesian women.
Budi said the smugglers could face the death penalty according to articles 112, 114 and 122 of Law No. 35/2009 on narcotics and illicit drugs and the Money Laundering Law, which carried a minimum penalty of four years’ imprisonment and a maximum sentence of death.
“We will develop further investigations on the findings,” Budi said.
Separately, the Finance Ministry’s customs and excise director general Heru Pambudi said that the 194 generator sets were supplied by Shen Zhen Yang Feng Industrial Co. Ltd. in China.
According to shipping documents, 278 boxes were sent, with 192 containing generators and the remaining 86 containing air filters.
Heru said that at the end of December 2015, the BNN shared information with his office about illicit drugs being smuggled from China to Indonesia inside imported agricultural machines or diesel engines.
“We then coordinated with the customs and excise directorate general’s Central Java and Yogyakarta offices,” Heru said, adding that the machines were smuggled through Semarang Tanjung Emas seaport.
The drugs were hidden inside the generators after the machines’ spare parts had been removed. One generator set could reportedly accommodate 1.5 to 1.9 kilograms of meth.
The smuggling was allegedly coordinated by Riaz, who has been living in Indonesia for several years and is married to an Indonesian.
According to the BNN’s investigations, the warehouse had received drug shipments several times.
Local people have said they did not realize the warehouse was used to store drugs. Warehouse owner Yunpelizar also claimed he had not suspected that his property had been used to trade narcotics.
