MEDAN: Police detained two people suspected of operating a drug manufacturing facility at a housing complex in Semarang, Central Java, and arrested five other individuals suspected of attempting to smuggle methamphetamine inside their bodies from Medan, North Sumatra, to Tangerang, Banten.
On Wednesday (April 3), a joint task force comprised of the National Police Narcotics Directorate, the Central Java Police and the Customs Office raided a house on Jl. Ngesrep Barat III in Banyumanik district, Semarang, and arrested two people who were making methamphetamine and “happy water” powder.
Happy water is a kind of drug-laced beverage made by mixing various drugs like methamphetamine into a sweetened drink.
“This happy water [powder] is the same kind of drug that was found in Thailand three weeks ago,” National Police drug unit director Brig. Gen. Mukti Juharsa said on Thursday in Semarang. The two suspects, identified only as PR and F, are apparently narcotics reoffenders from Bogor, West Java, and had been operating in Semarang for two weeks.
The pair had allegedly produced around 2,000 sachets of happy water powder and three kilograms of methamphetamine in a week.
Police suspect the two were planning to distribute the drugs to major cities with a vibrant nightlife scene, including Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya and Makassar, as well as several cities in Sulawesi and Kalimantan.
According to the police, PR and F had manufactured the drugs on instructions from a fugitive identified as KA for a daily fee of Rp 1 million (US$63), with potential bonuses of up to Rp 500 million.
Police discovered the drug facility following a tip from the customs office at Soekarno-Hatta airport, which had confiscated seven packages containing drug precursors from mainland China and Hong Kong between January and March. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
